Serendipity
by aznanime-eyes
Summary: The Hyuuga did it out of Family obligation. The Kunoichi did it to ESCAPE family obligation. They were supposed to be pretending... right? [NejiSakura] [possible GaaraSakura]
1. Default Chapter

**Author's Note:**

Ok, well I went on this Sakura fanfic frenzy the other day and I just came across one amazing story after the other. There are some really brilliantauthors out there with fathomless imaginations, and endless vocabulary. It was awesome. I never thought I'd be drawn to other Sakura pairings other than the popular Sasu/Saku, but darn writers out there... Make their interpretation of another pairing too good! So now, I am really liking the whole Gaara/Sakura, Itachi/Sakura, and yes, even Naruto/Sakura thing. I've really started to appreciate Sakura's character growth (even though I hated her with a passion at the beginning). She's such an awesome character and I think Saku-bashers should really give her a chance, like I did. Past all the "sasuke-kuns" and "ino-pigs", I think she is totally KICK BUTT. I can't wait for her showdown in the future mangas. Somehow, I know she's gonna rock the joint!

Anyway, even though I learned to appreciate those pairings, the one I came to fall in love with is the Neji/Sakura couple. I dunno what it is about those two, but they make awesome chemistry. So, without further ado, here is my render of their somewhat possible love story.

Enjoy!

Zarrah-chan

**Serendipity**

**Chapter 1 **

The Hyuuga sighed in growing irritation as he fought every urge to bolt out of the room. He clenched his jaw out of respect, attempting to smother any flames of aggravation that exhibited on his face. It was his role as a humble Hyuuga that prevented him from lashing out and strangling someone in annoyance. He had no time for this…

"I don't understand what is so difficult, Neji! It's been a week and everyone's getting restless! In the whole history of this clan, you are the only one unable to complete your Hyuuga obligations at the instructed age!" his uncle scolded. The pressure made Neji feel like a child again.

Everyday that week, Neji had been brought before his uncle for an hour's lecture on how he was dishonoring the family name. Hyuuga Neji, in all his power and triumphant strength, had been unable to complete the Hyuuga traditional task carved out for all of the males in that family.

The task itself was simple: Find a wife (or at least a girlfriend) by his nineteenth birthday. Get married, breed, and be happy. Simple, right?

The problem was, Hyuuga Neji had turned nineteen exactly a week ago, and not even the slightest attraction towards any female had surfaced. He gave no introduction, no indication, not even a clue as to which girl felt was a possibility of a future mate.

Inwardly, Neji scoffed. This was a stupid tradition. He had no room for romance in his life. Women were trouble, and he was good with only very few of them. But those few couldn't even be considered potential mates because they were his cousins.

Neji's thoughts were interrupted by his uncle's impatient gruff sigh.

"There are more important things in life than training, Neji."

The young Hyuuga laughed in his mind at the stupidity of his uncle's statement. Of course there was something more important to him than training! Like learning the Hyuuga main house succession technique his uncle promised to reveal to him…

Neji tuned out of the ongoing disappointment ramblings from his uncle, and began dreaming about the glorious, _undefeated _jutsu…

Then, something perked his ears back into attention.

"If you're not going to accept your obligation as a male Hyuuga, then I'm not required to accept mine. That means that until you find yourself a suitable mate, I am not obligated to teach you the Main house succession technique."

Now this, to Neji, was a tremendous threat.

_Brilliant… _Neji muttered to himself. Count on his uncle to discover his Achilles' heel and find a way to use it against him. This meant that Neji was in a tighter predicament than he thought. His uncle was not a man to resort to such measures as indecent threats. That meant the rest of the household elders really _were_ growing restless with his uncle for not disciplining the youngest Hyuuga male better.

_Crap… _Neji cursed. _They really mean it this time._ He clenched his fists and looked down dejectedly. No choice. He'd have to find a girl.

Neji's uncle folded his hands in a strict, disciplined manner and tried to stare Neji as straight in the eye as the young Hyuuga would allow.

"Do we understand each other?" It was more of a firm statement than a question. Nevertheless, Neji reluctantly nodded.

"Hai. Hiashi-sama."

The elder Hyuuga stood up and dusted his robes off, signaling the completion of their discussion. Before heading through the sliding doors, he stopped, his back facing his unhappy nephew.

"You're lucky your wife isn't chosen for you. You should be grateful for the option of anyone you like." He said. Neji glared hard at the floor, silently cursing the day he was born. Free choice was not entirely his. If it was, he'd choose not to follow that idiotic rule in the first place.

Neji heard the sliding doors close and hallow footsteps echoing throughout the domestic corridors. Grateful for his departure, Neji exhaled a frustrated sigh.

Then, his keen ears picked up the sound of Hiashi's voice in the distance.

"By the way," it spoke sternly, "You have two weeks."


	2. Unexpected Find

**Serendipity **

**Chapter 2**

Neji grudgingly trudged along the sunny streets of Konoha town square. Men, women, and children chattered happily around him. Restaurants smelling of ramen were spilling over with people who had just finished a long day of hard work. It was late in the afternoon, and academy students were already being dismissed from class.

Neji eyed a group of children leaping around, innocently laughing and pretending to be shinobi. A tingle of envy climbed up his spine, and he suddenly wished he were back at that age. Where the biggest of his childish worries was whether or not he would be accepted into ninja Academy.

A cool breeze fluttered over his hair before settling again into the hot summer sky. Neji neatly fixed his clothing in an obsessive perfectionist manner, and tightened the shinobi forehead protector around his head. Sadly, those days of innocence and insignificant worries would never return to him. Instead, here he was, nineteen years of age, hopelessly wandering the streets in search for a girl.

That sounded rather pathetic of him, and if it were ever discovered by anyone else, he would personally stab himself with a kunai.

Neji scowled at the remembrance of why he was here.

Two weeks! How in the world did they expect him to find the love-of-your-life-never-to-leave-you-till-death-due-us-part kind of girl in TWO BLOODY WEEKS! Things like that take time! And he definitely did not have the time for that right now.

Neji shoved his hands into his long sleeves in rage. It was as if his uncle expected some sort of love miracle to happen in fourteen days. Ridiculous would be a perfect word to describe his dilemma. It was absolutely impossible! And he knew from experience when things were possible or not. It came as naturally as his Byaakugan.

If it were as easy as picking any random girl, Neji would do it, don't get him wrong. He could. The problem was that Neji DIDN'T want to pick just any random girl. Contrary to what most believed, Neji wanted to have a family the right way. The way he'd seen it so many times before.

He'd used to scoff at the girls who giggled childishly while planning a future with the person of their dreams. Inwardly, he was just the same. Mind you, he was the same, minus the irritating giggles, flirtatious gestures, and elaborate dolls prancing around in wedding kimonos. Hyuuga Neji wanted a family just like them. He wanted to fall in love, get married, and have children, just like them.

But not now. And definitely not this method.

Neji's glare intensified.

His uncle was rushing him. Even worse, his uncle was _threatening _him. Learning the Hyuuga Succession technique meant a great deal to him at the moment, and being unable to discover it's secret because of disregarding a stupid family tradition pissed him off. Hyuuga Neji was NOT ready to spend the rest of his life with some bimbo he just picked off the streets. But no matter how he analyzed the situation, he couldn't determine another option. He wanted that technique. _That _bad.

Neji let out another frustrated sigh, the billionth one that day. If the saying that stress made hair turn white was true, then Neji's hair, at that moment, would be as white as his Byaakugan eyes.

The Hyuuga cleared his throat and shook off the unnecessary thoughts. He would concentrate. He would conjure up the perfect female his genius mind was capable of, and he would marry her. Simple as that.

Neji quickly began scanning through the crowd. Young ladies, old ladies, short ladies, tall ladies, skinny ladies, fat ladies… They all ranged in a vast variety. This overwhelmed the Hyuuga and he cursed under his breath. This strategy was not an efficient one. Even if a young lady had caught his attention, what would that make of him then? Shallow? And then what? He'd waste days attempting to get her attention, then more days getting to know her. It would waste too much time and he reminded himself that time was not a luxury he could afford.

Then a thought suddenly struck the genius in the head. _These girls would not be suitable anyway_, he thought. _The Hyuuga family expects a strong **kunoichi**. _

After moments of shaking imaginary fists at his uncle's instruction, the Hyuuga prodigy then reluctantly began skimming his memory of all the girls he knew in ninja academy. The first name he could think of was none other than his only female teammate. Tenten.

That option was immediately crossed out. As much as he cared for his female comrade, he could never imagine spending the rest of his life with her, nor think of her as any more than a simple fighting companion. She was far too aggressive for his liking, and he didn't think the elders would approve of his fiancée being the daughter of a weaponsmith. Besides, she had her eyes on the comedic Kiba, and he somewhat believed that the man had developed feelings for her as well.

That left Neji to continue the mental search. Scanning through names and faces, he stopped at the mental image of Temari of the Sand village. Now she was definitely crossed out. The woman had such masculine brute strength that it made Tenten look like a sissy. Her temper exploded with more firepower than his own, and her aggression showed that she would not so willingly surrender to the likes of any man. Plus, he had been hearing rumours that some chemistry had been sparking between herself and the brilliant strategist, Nara Shikamaru. _The strategist could probably deal with her far better than I can…_Neji thought, and proceeded.

Immediately, he remembered another blonde in his directory of Konoha kunoichis. Yamanaka Ino. Neji shuddered at the recollection of her trying to send flirtatious signals to him during their chuunin examination in Death Forest. Her mouth was a bombshell waiting to explode. The girl babbled about the strangest things like there was no tomorrow. Marrying her would mark the end of his sanity, and he was not ready for that yet.

Damn, he was running out of alternatives. He remembered thinking as a boy that girls should have been forbidden to join the academy to become ninjas. Now, for selfish purposes, he wished that more had entered.

Recalling all the kunoichis suddenly made him feel depressed. They had all, by now, found a special someone. In fact, most of the MALES he knew had found their counterpart. It made Neji feel isolated. Perhaps he was focusing a tad _too _hard on training. Even his timid and withdrawn cousin had blossomed into a relationship with the explosive Uzumaki Naruto.

Neji shook of his thoughts of doubt and contemplated harder. Kunoichi… kuniochi…There was someone he was missing…

The Hyuuga was drowned far too deep into his ocean of thoughts to even suspect anything in his way. The obstacle, in a hurried frenzy, skidded to a stop, unfortunately not quick enough to avoid impact.

Both came tumbling down with a crash.

White boxes flew everywhere and muscular limbs became entangled with delicate ones. Emerald eyes met white ones.

"Haruno?" he breathed, sounding more surprised than he would have liked. The eyes widened as a sheet of pink blanketed her face, complimenting her hair.

As the crowd around him shushed to an eerie mumbling, the Hyuuga realized why she was so flustered in embarrassment. There the two lay, the kunoichi on top of the shinobi, faces close, breathing heavy, in what looked to be a sudden passionate embrace.

Hyuuga Hiashi would have shot his own nephew if he had seen the indecent way the two were on top of each other.

The pink-haired kunoichi was the first to break the awkwardness. She bit her lip as she got up, and pressed her skirt down to retrieve what little dignity she had left.

"Sumimasen…" he heard her squeak, as she bowed in a respective manner.

Neji lay there, stunned like a deer in headlights, and unable to fully function for a few good moments. What had just happened was too quick for even his Byaakugan to catch. This was completely impossible! Hyuuga Neji never let his guard down! Hyuuga Neji never got distracted! And Hyuuga Neji most certainly did NOT knock over girls and just lie there DUMBFOUNDED!

Neji shook off his immobility and fought to get up. The longer he was on the ground, he felt, the more he would loose his decency as a Hyuuga prodigy. This was a complete embarrassment on both of their behalf, and now, half of Konoha had witnessed it. The fall of the all-powerful Hyuuga Neji.

That, was a REPULSIVE thought.

Neji immediately brushed off his shirt and turned to the girl who was now fidgeting everywhere, trying to collect the series of syringes that had scattered all over the place. Her hands trembled in panic at the raging fit her superior would go through once discovering that the medicinal supplies had been tainted with dirt.

Neji, despite his anger and irritation, did what any Hyuuga gentlemen would do, and began scanning the area with his Byaakugan for more syringes. In silence, he gathered the items and placed them gently in the box that the kunoichi was holding. She looked up in silent gratitude.

"God, I am such a cluts…" she muttered, indirectly apologizing for the commotion. Neji, at first, said nothing, but eventually realized that it was also his fault in the matter. As a man of integrity, he wasn't the type who would let the girl take all the blame and know that he had been just as guilty.

Neji placed what seemed to be the last syringe in the white box.

"No. It was my fault. I got distracted."

Now, the Hyuuga wanted to stone himself. He was supposed to tell her the necessary truth, not blurt out his whole life story! She did not need to know that he had been distracted because it was out of his known character to let the icy guard down.

The kunoichi, however, was far too busied with the clutter they both had made, to even think about the reasons for the Hyuuga's spaciness. Neji watched her as she accounted for all the syringes in the boxes. He followed her jade eyes as she moved from one box to another, tallying the total in her head. _A human calculator. _He remembered. _She was the smart one of Team seven. _

Neji silently observed the girl as her pink eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. She peered around her, to the left, then to the right. Something was obviously not right.

"What?" he spoke in aggression, to make up for the looking like a total idiot in front of Konoha civilians.

The girl pursed her lips to a side in thought.

"I'm missing one."

The two peered around them for a few moments longer before admitting defeat. The syringe was nowhere to be found.

"Crap." The kunoichi breathed while glancing at her watch. "I'm late."

Neji took that as a signal that he should be departing as well to tend to frustrating matters at the Hyuuga household, in which he strangely could not remember at the moment.

Dusting off his soiled pants, he stretched out a hand to help the girl up. He would have to explain to his rather strict uncle as to why his clothes were tainted like a little boy's, but that could wait till later. For now, his obligations were to the girl he had impolitely knocked down.

When the kunoichi took Neji's hand, he was a bit surprised at how bruised and calloused her petit hands were. It was a total contrast of her delicate appearance. What had she been doing?

As the pink-haired girl got up, she winced as her nurse white moccasins met the dirt.

"Ittai…" she hiccupped in a rather cute way.

As she lifted her foot, she noticed a small dot of blood forming on her cloth shoes, near the arc of her foot. Neji was preoccupied to notice a mortified look emerging on her face.

"The syringe." He said, picking it up from beneath her raised foot and placing it in one of her boxes. He noticed that she was still holding his hand as he did this. To his surprise, she did not let go. Instead, the grip tightened as she lost her balance and fell limply on his chest, an upright version of when they were on the ground.

Again, she apologized, but when she lightly tugged at his shirt and spoke in slurred words, he knew something was wrong.

With his piercing white eyes, he shot one look of Byaakugan at the white boxes. Taking one syringe, he held it in front of her face.

"What's in this?" he demanded, shouting this time.

His heart raced as her breathing staggered.

"Amplified Anesthetic…" she stuttered. "To the sixth power."

The last thing she remembered was eyes.

Gorgeous white eyes.

**Author's note:**

Ahh yes, that was a bit sloppy, but I wanted to explain his part of the love story first. I'll get to Sakura's later. Patience, little ones, patience.

Reviews make me SMILE!


	3. Closet

**Author's note: **A big huge thank you goes out to all those reviewers. You guys are great. Really motivating. I'm really glad you enjoyed it so far, as I am enjoying the pleasure of writing it.

Neji and Sakura… Man, the more I write and read more about this couple, the more I love it. I really hope that SOME interaction happens between them in the newer mangas. It would make for an interesting twist in the storyline.

Oh, to xLindsayx, haha sorry bout that! It's KLUTZ. Got it! Hhehe.

Anyway, enough babbling. Enjoy!

Zarrah-chan

**Chapter 3**

The kunoichi was awake before her eyes were open.

Her body felt as if it were in slumber for days, yet her mind pleaded for a longer rest. Warm drafts hovered over her face, carrying the comforting aroma of fresh herbs and morning mist. The pink-haired ninja couldn't remember the last time she slept so soundly, nor could she recall the last time she rested on something so satisfying.

Her breathing deepened as she attempted to recover the lovely rest she was awoken from.

Then, it hit her. Sleeping? She did not remember falling asleep… In fact, prior to waking up, she couldn't remember a thing.

Was she dead?

Something stirred under her head that caused the kunoichi to bolt up in alarm. Green eyes flew open as little red flags flashed in her head. She was in danger! She was vulnerable! She was…

"Awake?" a gruff voice asked behind her. She froze at the familiarity of his tone and inwardly scanned her memory of an image to match the speaker behind her.

Then, a striking pain pulsed through her head and she instinctively moved her fingertips toward her temples to ease the agony. A firm hand grasped her shoulder and pulled her back down. His strength was superior to her own, so after a moment of struggling protests, she finally surrendered under his authority.

"Oi. Take it easy."

When her eyes opened again, she was staring into the same white eyes she remembered before blacking out. When her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she blinked blankly at the handsome face glowering over her.

"You." She breathed, unable to immediately interpret the face into a name. His stoic face remained untouched.

"I usually prefer to be called Neji." The Hyuuga unemotionally retorted. However, her attention towards him soon evaporated, as he founder her emerald eyes circling to examine the room. He followed the direction of her baffled gaze.

The kunoichi rummaged through her brain, trying to figure out her location. The room was dark, small, and cluttered, and the only people occupying it were herself and the white-eyed stranger.

"We're in a closet…" she mumbled absently, unaware that she had spoken aloud. She heard the man kiss his teeth.

"A brilliant observation, genius." He spat. "I take it you're still spaced out?"

The girl was definitely clueless and Neji instantly regretted bringing her here. Just something about the reaction of waking up beside a total stranger (who, by the way, was the opposite sex) did not sit well with him. He knew the immediate ignorant response. She'd scream "Rape!", "Molestation!"… or worse… "DATE!"

Neji cursed the fates for torturing him with head-aching predicaments. He glanced back at the girl, and inwardly braced himself for the high-pitched scream.

Surprisingly, there came none.

"Why am I here?" she simply asked out of genuine confusion.

Neji silently thanked her from the bottom of his heart for not jumping to any conclusions.

"You don't remember?" he questioned, one eyebrow elevated. She paused a moment to ponder, then shook her head. The Hyuuga let out an aggravated sigh.

"Geez, Haruno. You stepped on one of these and then collapsed." He explained, dangling a syringe only inches from her completely baffled face.

"I passed out?" she heaved.

"You're the nurse. You figure it out."

More silence intervened as the Hyuuga allowed more time for the girl to pull herself together. She was a smart girl, though, so he knew it wouldn't take very long.

In the background, beyond the door outlined with blinding light, were sounds of footsteps, rolling carts, and monotone voices echoing on the PA system. The girl instantly recognized the building.

They were in Konoha Hospital.

…Correction. They were in a closet _IN_ Konoha Hospital.

Why?

When the kunoichi got up from the Hyuuga's lap, Neji moved as far away from her as the closet would allow. It was terribly indecent for him to be so close o a girl he barely knew.

The pink-haired nurse eyed him carefully but then decided that he was no threat.

"You didn't leave me there? On the streets?" she suddenly stammered, indirectly speaking of her gratitude that he had not abandoned her. Neji kept his gaze fixed on the wall.

"Well, you're _here_, aren't you?"

More silence. The Hyuuga was beginning to strangely grow hot in the face. Dammit, how did he get tangled in this?

"Why didn't you just bring me to a nurse?" she curiously asked. It was a question that boggled her mind. Sure he had rescued her, but bringing her to a closet was not the brightest plan for the supposed Hyuuga genius.

Neji felt like he was in an interrogation room. The young man grunted.

"The closet was closer."

"Were you afraid the nurses would see you?"

"I don't care if they see me."

"Ah, so you were afraid they would see me WITH you."

Neji shot her a warning look at the steering direction of their conversation, but knew full well that she hit a bull's eye with her statement. The Hyuuga became surprised when he found her flashing him a warm smile in return.

Now, she was toying with him.

"I take it you're feeling better." He stated, trying to coast the topic into a different direction. He resumed his staring contest with the wall. "A simple thank you for saving your life wouldn't kill."

She chuckled.

"Ahh, but you _didn't_ save my life because my life wasn't in danger in the first place." She smirked, holding a syringe. "They're just powerful anesthetics. Nothing life-threatening."

Neji lowered his eyebrows in rapid-growing anger for being nearly scared into a heart attack at her collapsing incident.

"Fine. Then maybe I should have left you on the streets. That way, I wouldn't be extremely late for training, and I'd find people more grateful for my assistance than you, Haruno." He bitterly spat, while shoving his hands into his sleeves. Why he was so angry, the Hyuuga had no idea.

The kunoichi's smile faded into a half-frown at his sudden change of mood and Neji half-regretted being so touchy. She was only trying to lighten him up.

The conversation was soon forgotten when their attention was turned to the announcement on the PA system.

"_Haruno, Sakura. Haruno Sakura. Please report to the Hokage's office immediately." _

The female ninja turned to look at the brooding Hyuuga, slouching in the corner. He made no motion to leave, nor was he affected much by the page.

After moments of remaining still, she finally decided to do her bidding. Getting up, she brushed the dust off her white nurse uniform, while running calloused fingers through her blush hair. However, as soon as both feet were planted on the ground, her knees buckled and she limply fell over, knocking brooms and buckets off their resting shelves.

The ruckus was colossal and Neji could not understand how the whole village of Konoha could not hear it. This girl had trouble written all over her.

As if a new found instinct, he moved to aid the girl in untangling herself from series of brooms and mops. Geez, he'd take his eye off her for ONE bloody second and…

"You're hopeless, Haruno." He condescended, unimpressed. Sitting her upright, he pressed two fingers on the foot that was punctured by the needle.

"Feel that?" he examined. She shook her head and sighed.

"I completely forgot. It's not uncommon for bruising and numbness to occur after being injected with these fluids." She informed. "Nor is it uncommon for feeling to delay in returning to the patient after their awakening."

Neji lifted an eyebrow.

"And they let YOU become a nurse?"

The two were silent for a moment, before a sweet, serene laughter echoed in the closet. Neji was stunned at her light and carefree mood that contrasted his. Why the heck was she laughing?

"And they said you had no sense of humour…" she chuckled. He still made no effort to even pretend to be amused. He was completely in the dark.

"You're too serious." She exhaled, still smiling. "I pity the woman you marry."

Neji 'hmphed' and looked away before she would notice the darkening hue of red spilling across his cheeks. It was terribly childish of him, but hey. If anyone else knew that the all powerful Hyuuga Neji was blushing like an idiot in front of some girl, they'd never let him hear the end of it.

After some time, the girl patted her thighs and rotated her ankles. When all felt right, she got up and headed for the door, leaving the aloof young man to himself.

"Well," she started, "Guess I better go see what they need me for."

Neji waited for her to finish what seemed to be a trailed-off sentence. When she reached for the handle and opened the door to a small crack, Neji's fist clenched in anger at what she had forgotten to say before she would leave.

As if sensing his tension, she paused and grinned triumphantly, leaving her back to face the irritated young man.

"By the way," she chimed, "Thank you for taking care of me."

Neji's eyebrows went in up in surprise, but then came down again in aggravation. He had gotten his thank you. Why, then, was he still so pissed off?

"That was a lucky shot on your half, Haruno. I'm not doing it again."

The grin grew on her smug face and she turned her head slightly, so he could see her smile.

"I usually prefer to be called Sakura." She said, mimicking his earlier tone.

With that, she exited the room and closed the door, leaving the Hyuuga to stare at her retreating form. She had to be the most intriguing girl he had ever met and he wondered how he could have ever missed her in his ninja academy years.

Shaking off that thought, he too, stood up and brushed his robes off. Now, he could return to whatever business he had prior to this embarrassing incident.

Neji paused. For a moment, he couldn't recall what he had been racking his genius mind for, before their little encounter.

As he turned the knob to open the door, he cursed as it all came flooding back to him.

_That's right… _he thought. _A wife._

**Author's note: **hahahah, I'm sorry if you think this was a terrible chapter. When I was writing it, I was laughing my head off at this scenario, but I do apologize if you don't like it. If so, I'm sorry to disappoint you. I think there will be more of these battles of sarcasm and wittiness throughout this story. It really seemed very entertaining.

Anyway, again, reviews are TOTALLY appreciated. It keeps me writing!


	4. Desert Lotus

**Author's Note: **Hello, all you beautiful people! Sorry for the delay. Here is chapter four. This one focuses more on Sakura's part in the love story, as requested by many viewers. Thank you for all who reviewed. You're sooooo totally cool. Anyway, enjoy!

By the way, there are some words in here in Japanese that you may not understand. Here's a quick glossary:

Taisho- palm heel strike

Nukite- spear hand strike

For those of you familiar with karate, you'd probably know those words.

Ok, that's all!

Zarrah-chan

**Chapter 4**

**The Desert Lotus**

Sakura chuckled lightly as she strode through the quiet corridors of Konoha Hospital. There was something about her encounter with the Hyuuga prodigy that amused her. That man had more comedy to him than everyone was led to believe, and she wondered how anyone could ever miss that. Back when she was a genin, all she could ever see in him was a cold-hearted, selfish bastard, who had the nerve to beat his poor cousin to a bloody pulp. Contrary to her earlier assumptions, she found Neji's character to be greatly charming and comforting after their meeting in the closet. The kunoichi laughed some more at the recollection of their conversation, and questioned why the man didn't have oodles of young ladies drooling over him. He was smart, strong, and hey (she was a girl, after all), he was a complete hottie.

Surprised at her sudden childish thinking, Sakura shook off the unimportant facts and resumed her path to the Hokage's office.

When she reached the large wooden doors, she placed her hands on the brass handles and pushed them open. This brought back memories of the day she requested to train under the legendary medical sannin, and despite her massive growth in strength, the kunoichi couldn't help but feel a tingle of nervousness. That, too, was shaken off. The Kunoichi had opened those doors a billion times before. How was this any different?

Sakura was met by the stern gaze of the fifth Hokage, whose arms were crossed so that the line of cleavage was more predominant.

_Crap_…she thought. _Am I in trouble?_

The pink-haired girl folded her hands together to hide the perspiration pooling in the center of her palms. She'd become quite a powerful jounin, but the one person she still cowered beneath was the great and beautiful Tsunade...

…And her overly-large breasts.

Sakura took a deep breath.

"If this is about the medicinal supplies, I'm really sorry. It wasn't entirely my fault, I—"

The Hokage held up a hand.

"Hang on there. Relax. This has nothing to do with your job." She interrupted. Tsunade signaled for the girl to have a seat.

It wasn't until Sakura was completely in the room that sheer panic attacked her nerves. There, on the couch beside the Fifth's desk, were Mr. and Mrs. Haruno Kamuii, politely seated next to each other.

Wide green eyes stared blankly at the two figures before her, and confusion overwhelmed the pink-haired kunoichi.

Her parents? What were they doing here?

Sakura sat down across from her guardians, and gave a helpless look to her teacher, silently asking for an explanation. The Fifth, however, only gave her full attention to the Haruno couple.

"What's going on?" Sakura finally asked after what seemed to be hours of catching the adults exchange glances and eye signals.

A parcel on her mother's lap caught the girl's attention.

"Sakura…" her mother stammered, not knowing where exactly to begin. She fidgeted a moment before slowly opening the parcel. When the brown packaging was removed, a bright purple flower rested in the middle of Mrs. Haruno's lap.

"Do you remember this?"

Sakura cocked her head to a side, examining the mesmerizing flower, and skimmed her memory of it. Unsure of the relevance it had to her, she reluctantly nodded.

It was a desert lotus.

She'd seen it once, on her fifth birthday, given to her as a gift. She didn't understand its importance back then, and ignored it. After all, which would a five year old girl pick? Dolls? Or a useless flowers?

Sakura twiddled her fingers as her father cleared his throat in growing impatience. She knew he was a straight forward man, and definitely not one to beat around the bush. Haruno Kamuii nudged for his wife to continue, and she obediently followed his silent command.

Mrs. Haruno dropped her eyes and cradled the flower in her palms. Sakura was oddly reminded of one of her best friends, Hinata-sama, when her mother did this. Both were strong females alone, but when a man was added to the picture… both faltered and completely surrendered.

"Sakura…" her mother tried again, breaking the girl out of her incoherent thoughts. "You remember your father's accomplishment at Sand village eighteen years ago?"

Sakura nodded. She'd often heard stories of her father from prior to her own birth. Although neither of her parents were ninjas, her father held an honorary position in solving political issues between countries and villages, maintaining the peace between them. Sakura had been told of all his success due to his ingenious plans, and it had been in him that she was proud to have inherited her intelligent genes.

Sakura peered at her father who only sat cross-armed with both eyes closed. Eighteen years ago, she had heard that he had gone to the Sand village for a political meeting, when a group of hired assassins from the Hidden Mist Village attacked their gathering. Although her father had no training in the shinobi field whatsoever, he had managed to survive the ambush and returned to tell about it. Only three men lived from that meeting, and Sakura was proud that her father was one of them.

Mrs. Haruno shuffled a bit, bringing Sakura back into the topic of conversation. The pink-haired kunoichi glanced at the flower, to her father, and back. There was something she couldn't quite piece together, in spite of her high-leveled intelligence. What did the flower have to do with her father's job of more than a decade ago?

Her mother, sensing her ascending anxiety, decided to continue with the explanation.

"There's something we haven't quite told you…" she trailed off.

Sakura's blood ran cold and she hated the words instantly. There were terrible confessions that usually followed those words, and the girl didn't want to hear any of it. They'd tell her she was adopted! They'd tell her they were getting divorced! They'd tell her she housed a killer monster in her body that if ever it were to escape, they'd have to kill her on a full moon and sacrifice her to the other monsters housed in other shinobis' bodies!

"It's about the meeting at Sand village eighteen years ago."

_Phew_. So it _wasn't_ the monster prediction.

"The day your father went to the meeting, assassins from the Hidden Mist village ambushed the council and killed all but three."

Sakura nodded as her heart beat returned to normal. She's already known that. Why were they deciding to tell her now?

"And when he returned," she continued, "The political board honored his survival, and awarded his bravery, despite not being a shinobi."

Yes, yes… She'd known all that as well…What was the point of all this useless information?

"The truth is, your father nearly died. It was a Sand shinobi that saved him."

That hit Sakura's head harder than she thought. So all those stories about his survival were false?

Sakura eyed her father who glanced at the doorway, as if anticipating someone to enter. Just _what_ was he up to?

"The reason why we're telling you this," Mrs. Haruno trailed off, "Is because you play an important role."

Sakura flinched. _Me?_

"You see, the Sand shinobi who saved your father was a very powerful one and trusted very little people. He questioned your father about his loyalty to sand. After he rescued him, the shinobi didn't allow your father to return to Konoha unless he had gotten something as a repayment to prove his loyalty." Mrs. Haruno said, fingering the petals on the delicate flower, as if reminiscing something from a distant dream. "That was the year I was pregnant with you…"

The woman inhaled deeply, before proceeding with the news that was most important.

"Your father had no choice, Sakura. The shinobi would have killed him if had tried to escape…"

Sakura's forehead creased in growing confusion.

"Mom…?" she asked with uncertainty tainting her soft voice. It was as if she were a little girl again.

Her mother sighed.

"Your father promised to give him you."

A billion questions ran through the kunoichi's head at the time, but her mouth produced nothing. Given away? What was she, a simple package--- a present just for one man's delight?

Unwilling to look her daughter in the eyes, Mrs. Haruno kept her own on the flower.

"The Sand shinobi had a son a year prior to that meeting." She began again, after a long moment of silence. "When he discovered that your father was married and that I was pregnant with a girl, the man suddenly became interested in a bargain. He told your father to give you to him. You were to be arranged in a marriage with the boy by the time you reached eighteen. This would pay off your father's debt to him. Your father eventually agreed."

Another wave of silence. Sakura wasn't sure if all this information was making its way to her head. This was a dream, she told herself. A terrible, terrible dream…

"To remind your father every year of his promise, the Sand shinobi sent an engagement flower, from the day you were born, and every year after that. The desert lotus was a symbol of his commitment with the ninja that saved his life, and it tormented us every year.

We were afraid of what you would say, so we always kept the flower a secret from you. We hid it every time it arrived, so that you wouldn't find out. For a while, we believed he had forgotten about it, but as soon as you turned eighteen, he sent us this." She paused, cupping the lotus.

"Your fiancée has arrived."

Sakura's fingers went cold and she was sure that her heart had stopped pumping. An arranged marriage?

She suddenly felt nauseous, and it felt like all her childhood dreams were stripped away from her. All those plans of her fantasy wedding with the perfect man were torn apart right there. The realization of her fate hit her with a bang. She would have to spend the rest of her life with some man that she did NOT love. That was worse than any brutal shinobi training she had ever faced in her entire life.

Sakura could tell that her mom mourned for her. Her father, on the other hand, looked as if he could care less. It was entirely unfair for him to give her away like a worthless shoe, and not even show signs of loss.

The pink-haired kunoichi glanced at her mom who tried her best not to cry, but failed as two drops fell from her eyes. Her lips moved as she mumbled soft sentences over and over again. Though Sakura could not hear it, she read the mouth movements like a book.

"_Your father would have died, your father would have died…"_

It was then that Sakura erased all feelings of bitterness toward her parents. Her father had lived, and that was the important factor. If she chose not to marry the stranger, she was sure that her father would pay a greater price than the one he did eighteen years prior. Sakura felt a wave of guilt build up in her gut. It was completely unfair… but she would do it.

She would do it for her father.

Sakura swallowed hard before speaking.

"Who is he?" she simply asked, indirectly agreeing to the arrangement.

Tsunade smiled in admiration at her pupil's courage. Sakura was a tough girl, and a strong-willed woman, but she obediently followed her family's obligation when push came to shove. If the Hokage were in that situation herself, she wasn't sure if she could handle it like Sakura did. And in that fact alone, Tsunade was proud of her subordinate.

Tsunade was determined to make the engagement easier for the young woman to handle.

"He's actually not that bad, Sakura. You'll learn to like him." The Fifth said. "He's even put his duties as a Kazekage on hold, just to see you."

Sakura's green eyes widened.

"_Kazekage_? My fiancée's a Kazekage?"

She felt a burst of strong chakra build up behind her, and the sound of flowing sand rang in her ears.

"Gaara." The stranger breathed. "Gaara of the desert."

Neji couldn't shake the kunoichi off his mind and in that, he became immensely irritated.

The Hyuuga walked stoically towards his humble home, with a large frown plastered on his handsome face. The sun was nearing the horizon line, and signaled its departure by painting the sky glorious shades of orange, purple, and red. It was just hours after his heart almost failed on him in utter panic at the kunoichi's sudden unconsciousness.

Yes, Hyuuga Neji had very much been scared to death over the condition of a girl he barely knew.

Insignificant?

No way in hell.

This was a heck of a bloody big deal.

Hyuuga Neji NEVER, in the entire span of his life, was as frightened as he was the moment the kunoichi hit the ground. It was as if his body moved completely on its own. In moments quicker than he could grasp, the young man swept the girl into his muscular arms and raced as fast as his shinobi legs could carry him to the only place he knew to take her. Konoha Hospital.

Yet as bad as that was, it wasn't the worst part.

Fear chewed away at his heart a second time in the hospital when he spotted familiar Konoha nurses head his way. He had looked at the situation from a distance with his Byaakugan, and did not like where it going.

'_The Hyuuga prodigy, in a disarrayed state, clutching an unconscious Konoha nurse tightly in his arms.'_

That did not sit so well with him.

In a panic, Neji had bolted into the closest door possible.

It was dark, and for a moment, he had mistaken the place for the morgue. _Perfect. _He remembered thinking. _I can just leave her with the dead people and no one will suspect a thing._

When he found the light switch, he discovered his mistake, and his plans instantly deflated.

This was a _closet._

_Crap._

There were only SO many conclusions that people would immediately come to, once setting eyes on the couple alone in a janitor's closet, and he liked none of them.

This was, by far, the suckiest day of his life.

Not knowing what else to do, Neji had laid the girl down onto his lap, hoping to God that no one would suddenly find the need for a mop. He fanned her face with his sleeves and felt her wrist for a pulse, all while gawking at her pale face for any responses. If this was her idea of some sick joke, he would personally pay her back with Divine Punishment.

Fortunately for her (and UNFORTUNATELY for him), she was knocked out cold in what seemed to a very deep slumber.

He could not tell her how utterly EXTATIC he was when her emerald eyes finally fluttered open, an hour after they had been stranded there. He remembered thinking about hugging the girl in colossal relief, but considering the current circumstances, he found reason to keep his distance.

Then, the strangest of all events to happen that day: the two had immersed into a very enlightening conversation. And as strange as it sounded, he liked her company.

But he would rather stab himself with a kunai than admit to anyone that fact.

Neji let out another frustrated sigh, unable to pinpoint what it was that made him so angry. It was suffocating him and he needed to vent it out.

Passing by a training stump, Neji paused at an idea. Thanking the Lord Almighty for the invention of the object, Neji decided to release his tension with a couple of hundred _taisho_'s and _nukite_'s to the stump. Nothing would please him more than the bloody calloused hands of a day's worth of hard training.

Neji took the proper stance, and prepared to begin.

"NEJI-NII-SAN!" a high-pitched voice called in panic. The Hyuuga was so close to ripping his hair out in insanity.

"What?" he barked at the panting figure approaching him in a total wreck. It was his gentle cousin, Hinata, looking as if she had witnessed a fire and was calling for immediate help. Hinata ignored his rude response and tugged at his sleeve.

"Ottousan is looking for you. It's urgent, he said. If you don't come quickly, he'll tear the whole house apart!" she squeaked.

Neji analyzed this.

Being a tad afraid of her elder cousin, Hinata was not one to touch him so impolitely like that. It must have been quite an emergency for her to nag at him like she did.

The Hyuuga cursed at his increasing bad luck.

The fates were just not on his side today.

Whizzing by shops and houses, the two cousins finally arrived upon the Hyuuga mansion, to the room where Neji was so urgently being beckoned. Upon entering, Neji turned to look at Hinata whose knees quivered at the thought of opening the door. Nevertheless, she did.

"Ottousan…" she rapidly spoke, immediately dropping on all fours in a submissive bow. "Neji-nii-san is here."

The man pounded his fist on the mats impatiently.

"Bring him to me this instant!" he bellowed in a deep voice.

"H-hai!"

Hinata bowed once again, and exited the room, giving her cousin a "good luck with him" look. Neji nodded and obediently entered the room, dropping into the same respective bow.

"You called for me, Hiashi-sama?"

Despite his uncle's earth-shattering call, Neji was as calm as the eye of a storm. He didn't raise his voice, nor wished to. He felt more irritated than afraid, and would find great difficulty in disguising that instead.

"You are a Hyuuga disgrace!" his uncle yelled and Neji immediately looked up in defense. _Whoa, _he thought bitterly. _A tad quick to conclusions, are we? _

"Have I disobeyed you, Hiashi-sama?" Neji simply asked, hoping that none of his anger slipped into the tone of his voice.

"Carrying a woman, who is not even your wife into a closet alone, Neji! What in the name of all things sacred were you thinking!" the elder Hyuuga boomed, disregarding Neji's question.

Neji froze, eyes wide open. He _SAW _that? The saying was completely true. Walls DID have eyes. And they apparently belonged to the Hyuuga household.

_Kuso_. What in the world was he supposed to say?

"Hiashi-sama. I can explain---" he began but was cut off by louder shouts. If the Sand village could hear him, Neji didn't know what couldn't.

"It's bad enough that you have not chosen a wife in the supposed time frame, now I have elders and family members telling me they saw you randomly pick up a stranger and affectionately carry her into the privacy of a closet! Have you no pride in the Hyuuga family name? Outrageous behavior with a young woman… I can only question how many more you have on the side of her! Perhaps THAT is why you cannot choose a wife! You are tormented between MANY mistresses!"

Holy crap, if anything had ignited the way Hiashi's speech ignited Neji's rage, the whole world would have died in the fire.

"Hiashi-sama!" Neji shrieked with a flaring temper. MANY women? The guy could barely get ONE! And the one he "had" was NOT his woman. Hiashi, in blinding anger, refused to listen to anything the boy had to say.

"I should banish you from this family, and strip your memory of all the techniques you know of! Disgrace has tainted you as a Hyuuga and I should not welcome you anymore!" he threatened, his face painted in red.

Panic struck Neji flat across the face. His precious techniques meant more to him than his very existence! Now way, he wanted to loose that!

He looked to the side, searching for a quick escape. He needed an excuse…God, he needed an excuse. _Any_ excuse would be better than this grilling he was taking here…ANY excuse.

"…She's my fiancée."

Neji immediately wished he could swallow those words back into his mouth. What in the bloody earth had he just said? _Tell me this is a dream… A Horrifying nightmare…._

"I've known her since ninja academy and have been waiting for the right time." His mouth had completely gone insane, and ran with unstoppable words. "I took her to the closet, yes, for privacy. I was proposing to her."

This was it. Neji wanted to shoot himself, right there, right then. It was as if madness had devoured his entire genius mind and was spreading across his body like wildfire. This was the FIRST lie he had ever told in his entire life, spoken right in the face of possibly the most dangerous man in his world. That was it. He could carve his tombstone right there. _Hyuuga Neji, nineteen years of age. Beloved son, cousin, and nephew…Cause of death…UTTER ANNIHILATION BY HIS GREAT AND POWERFUL UNCLE. _Yes, sir, he was ready for it. The beautiful succession technique preformed right on himself. _Brace yourself, Hyuuga… This should be an honour…_

"Is this true?" Hiashi spoke, sounding more surprised than suspicious. The lie… had been BOUGHT?

"Hai."

This would be the perfect day pigs chose to fly, and cows chose to produce orange juice.

His uncle BELIEVED him? WHAT HAD THE WORLD COME TO?

Hiashi allowed time for his face to return to the normal shade of peach, before he cleared his throat in attempts to calm down. The elder Hyuuga placed his hands on his knees.

"And what is her name?"

This was a beautiful disaster waiting to happen.

Neji tried with all his might to ignore the gnarling feeling in his gut while he opened his mouth.

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura."

Surprisingly, the name flowed through his lips more smoothly than he had anticipated. It was a pretty name, really, and the Hyuuga noticed that it matched her very well. Simple beauty, he noted, like the cherry blossom itself.

Neji shook off the bizarre thoughts and forced himself to concentrate on the situation, which, he reminded himself, was not very lovely.

The younger Hyuuga slowly raised his white eyes to meet that of his uncle's.

"I apologize for the delay."

Hiashi stared his nephew down for a moment, and then headed for the sliding door.

"As long as you love her." He said roughly, tightening his belt around him.

"Hai, Hiashi-sama. Very much."

Neji could not believe how easily that slipped out of his mouth, and how he had just gotten away with his first handful of lies. How the heck was he going to pull this off?

"Good." His uncle responded. Before closing the door, he paused. "I look forward to meeting her."

As his presence drifted away from the room, Neji heard yet another distanced outburst.

"The ceremony will be set for two weeks. I expect to have an approved encounter with her by then."

With that, he vanished.

Neji sighed at the growing pain in his temples.

Haruno Sakura was going to **_KILL_** him.

**Author's Note: **Hello, my little duckies! How art thou? Hahah well, I have to admit, this IS my favourite chapter so far. This sort of gets the ball rolling. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did, cuz OH MAN, DID I ENJOY THIS! Hahaha. Woo.

Neji, you little trouble-maker, you….

Ahh. Love him.

REVIEWS! REVIEWS!


	5. Konoha Buzz

**Author's Note: **Oh, the flatteryyy… I can't tell you all how much your reviews meant to me. Haha, and like you all, I am ALSO getting really entangled in the story. And to pass the time (until episode 133 comes out) I decided to write chapter 5 of this humorous love story.

So, without further ado….

Chapter 5.

Zarrah-chan

**Chapter 5**

The minute Sakura spun around, her heart disintegrated in fear. It was as if she were watching a replay of a horror movie all over again.

She had seen those eyes only once before. But it only took one time for the image to painfully sear itself into her head.

The jade eyes, outlined in heavy black, reflected her own eyes, blanketed in terror. The red, messy mop of hair complimented the tattoo above his left brow, deciphering into the word 'love'. Though, it wasn't the kind of love most would believe. Naruto once told her that the kanji character meant his love of death and destruction. The person standing before her had only been regarded as a monster…

…And now she'd be marrying one.

Sakura said nothing and gaped at him for what seemed to be hours.

No, it wasn't possible! How could anyone ever elect such a man to be Kazekage? And how could her beloved parents ever have agreed to her betrothal to him?

The kunoichi tried shaking off the judge-mental thoughts. _Get a hold of yourself, girl. _She scolded. _You're not shallow. _

She remembered her young days as a twelve year old genin and how shallow she used to be. Her foolish days, she recalled, the days she chased around the Uchiha boy.

It was a childish way of thinking, really. But her infatuation with Sasuke taught her that it really was the inside of someone that mattered most, as cliché as that sounded.

Sakura tried looking at the Kazekage in that light, but for some reason, it seemed impossible. After all, she'd nearly been slaughtered by his horrendous claw of sand in her attempts to protect the former love of her life. How was it possible for someone so set on destruction, to turn a new corner?

…But then again, how was it possible for someone so set on content to revert to a vengeance-hungry bastard?

_Point taken. _Sakura thought. _Maybe I'll give him a try._

The kunoichi swallowed hard before standing up to meet his eye level.

"Honored to be in your presence, Kazekage-sama." She bowed, wincing with each word.

_Any moment now, he's going to reach out his claw and swallow me in his sand vortex of doom… _she exhaled. _Any time now. _

To her greatest surprise (and relief), the man did no such thing.

Instead, he took her hand.

Sakura jerked and almost retracted her hand, as if touching fire. However, one glance at the proud look her parents wore, forced her to keep the interaction with the man.

When he brought the back of her hand near his mouth, Sakura gritted her teeth.

_Great… He won't suffocate me in sand…He'll just gnaw off bits and pieces of my flesh, one by one… _

Again, no such ridiculous figments of her imagination came to life. On the contrary, the kunoichi felt a delicate peck on her hand.

Gaara of the Desert…had just kissed her hand?

"Delighted." He said, completely emotionless. He bowed and then straightened his sash, signaling a notion of respect for both Tsunade and the Haruno couple. His face was stoic, and anything but happy, however, it was clearly not the same as her recollection of their last encounter, nearly six years ago. Gaara of the desert, for once, did not look like a monster.

In a way, Sakura was thrilled. On the other hand, she frowned. _He doesn't remember me?_

For a long while, the young fiancées exchanged glances. The silent conversation of their eyes was unclear, but Sakura could tell that he did not want to be there any more than she. In that, she was a bit relieved.

Maybe there was hope of true love for her after all…

"When did you arrive?" Mrs. Haruno spoke, breaking the two from their staring contest. Gaara turned his head slowly to face his future mother-in-law.

"An hour ago." Came his monotone reply.

Sakura's mom nodded and smiled, petting the flower like a family dog.

It was still for a moment, before anyone stirred or made motions to get up. The tension in the atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a kunai, and Sakura felt her cheeks slowly growing red. She felt like her parents were setting her up for a blind date and it was turning out to be more than a nightmare.

This, however, was a bit more permanent than a simple first date, and in that, Sakura felt even more like a wreck.

Thankfully, Gaara decided to be the one to break the silence.

"If the Harunos approve, I would like to request a private meeting with the Hokage, in correspondence to country matters." He said, rather respectfully. Gaara bowed, and patiently waited for their response.

Mr. and Mrs. Haruno glanced at one another, and then nodded in unison.

"Of course, Kazekage-sama. We realize you are a busy man. We apologize for any inconvenience we have caused you. We'll gladly continue the wedding preparations later." Mr. Haruno spoke, for the first time that night. To Sakura, her father seemed quite pleased at the match, and ignored any vibes of tension that had surfaced. If they had any idea how Gaara was like before, no amount of arguing would convince both of them to continue with the arrangement. But judging at how happy her parents seemed, Sakura didn't want to ignite any feelings of unnecessary panic. It would cause too much attention to be drawn to her, and that was the LAST thing she wanted. It was bad enough being engaged to the shinobi rumored to have housed a deadly monster in him, it was WORSE that all of Konoha would _know_ about it.

Before the Kages left for another private room, Gaara gave the pink-haired kunoichi a long stare. Then, bowing to the Harunos, they both disappeared.

Sakura was stunned for a split second, unable to identify the meaning of his look. Was it a threat, or a simple acknowledgment of their future together? Either way, she could not ignore the loud thumping in her chest. She was scared and at the same time… proud? Haruno Sakura would be on the arm of one of the most powerful men in the world. It gave her a sense of comfort knowing that she'd be well-protected.

Or, it could have been the opposite. She could be in greater danger than any mission. This WAS the man who managed to knock out Sasuke cold.

Now, Sakura couldn't tell which she felt more. Fear, or empowerment. This wedding would drive her insane. She wasn't ready for this. She was only eighteen and at the prime of her jounin years! She couldn't imagine settling down with a man who NEVER smiled, laughed, or shown any emotion besides grumpiness for that matter. She was a polar opposite to him. She needed to be shown affection now and then. She needed to know that SHE was needed.

Sakura sighed remembering the Uchiha. It never occurred to her why she ever felt anything for him. He was exactly the same as Gaara. He walked like Gaara, Talked like Gaara, wore the same face as Gaara. Those two were TWIN ICE PRINCES.

Perhaps, Sakura liked the Uchiha because of the fact that Sasuke was the most desired boy of all Konoha. Fantasizing about winning him over in front of all the girls brought much victory to Sakura, knowing that she wasn't exactly the most talented, most gorgeous kunoichi out there. She realized in time that she was only infatuated with him. Nothing more.

She once thought she loved him, but thinking back, she knew she was just a silly love-sick school girl. After all, her parents had an arranged marriage, so true love was rarely shown in their household. Sakura was just making up for what was lacking at home. And that was romance.

She never really loved Sasuke. In fact, she barely ever knew him. Just like Gaara.

No, Gaara was far more respectful than the vengeful traitor. Granted, Gaara once had the same intent to kill as Sasuke, but if _Tsunade _could trust him now, Sakura couldn't find any reason not to.

Sakura bit her lip.

As much as she'd like to trust him, she still wasn't ready to be married to him. She wanted to find love the RIGHT way, the way she'd seen so many times before. She wanted to meet someone, fall in GENUINE love, get married, settle down and have children. Being forcefully engaged just defeated the whole journey experience.

Ahh……

Gaara was not her match, but what was the girl to do? Her parents counted on her… And they rarely ever did. They wanted her to be a teacher, shop-keeper, or political diplomat. Sakura had chosen neither. She had chosen to be a ninja at their greatest disappointment. She could not let them down. This was far too important.

Sakura watched as her father got up and fixed his shirt. He marched over to the exit and cleared his throat before leaving.

"I know this is not the easiest thing for you. But please know that I am very proud of you."

He exhaled and then vanished behind the swinging wooden doors.

Sakura's heart pounded through her chest. Her father NEVER said those words. Which could only mean that this time, he was actually speaking the truth. No way could she back out now.

This was permanent.

_Breathe, girl. _She told herself. _Red-head kids won't look too bad…_

Ahh, who was she kidding. She was DOOMED.

Mrs. Haruno sensed her daughter's turmoil and inwardly pleaded for something to do for her. If anyone could understand the girl's heart-ache, it was her mother. She, herself, had been arranged in an unwanted marriage. It was terribly painful.

Mrs. Haruno marched up to her daughter and swallowed her in a loving embrace.

"You'll learn to love him." She spoke in a motherly tone. "I did."

Sakura eyes teared up but she refused to let herself cry. Her mother was such a brave woman. Kunoichi or not, Sakura's mother was courageous enough to go through with the plans. How could she argue with that?

Mrs. Haruno absently stroked her daughter's pink hair. She felt a few drops fall on her bear shoulders and knew that her daughter was crying. It was complete torture letting her go through this… so unexpectedly. The poor tragic girl…

Sakura's mother drew closer to her daughter's ear. Even if it wasn't much hope, she could provide the girl with SOMETHING to look forward to.

"There are only two ways the arrangement can be legally broken off." Mrs. Haruno said, trailing off.

Emerald eyes flew open. _Keep going…God, please keep going._

"One, if he backs out."

Sakura's heart sank. Would Gaara back out of it? It was plausible, but at the same time highly unlikely.

_Second one…What about the second one?_

"Two," her mother continued, "If the man you WISH to marry makes another trade with Gaara, before your wedding day."

Sakura froze as her mother gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"The wedding's in seventeen days. There isn't much time, but love CAN still happen." She hinted before heading in the same direction as her husband. Turning around, she took another look at her daughter and brought a finger to her lips. Sakura knew this signal. This was to be kept a secret.

Mrs. Haruno opened the door and exited, as Sakura was left in solitude, quickly pondering with her intellectual mind.

A bit over two weeks.

She needed to hurry.

Neji was awake before the sun had even a chance to surface from the horizon line. Already, the Hyuuga had managed to complete a full work out before he would report to his duties as an ANBU trainee that morning.

It had taken him four fidgeting hours to obtain only forty minutes of sleep, and after countless times trying, he finally gave up and decided to exercise. Why the man was so restless, even he had no idea.

Perhaps it was the horrific fact that every time he shut his eyes, the vivid image of Haruno Sakura in a wedding kimono would haunt and torment his genius mind. Ahh, the girl would undoubtedly ring his neck upon discovering his series of lies. He'd seen her wrath often poured out upon Uzumaki Naruto, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Sakura definitely had every right to strangle him…

And she would. In a flash.

Not that he could blame her. He'd strangle _himself_ to death, if only he had not sworn to learn the succession technique before surrendering to the grave. What a hopeless predicament he'd managed to get himself into… All on his own.

Neji could not understand what it was exactly that compelled him to say such appalling fibs.

Hyuuga Neji? Engaged to the weak and insignificant Haruno Sakura? It was absolutely ridiculous! Outrageous! Impossible!

…And yet he had told that exact lie.

Kuso.

His uncle was going to butcher him alive. He was doomed to cower at the powerful fist of Hyuuga Hiashi, the only man capable of beating him into a mess of chakra. How in the world was he going to escape this?

The massive web of lies he would have to spin was endless. It was true. Lies were like Pringles. Once you popped… it was absolutely impossible to stop. Utter stupidity had some how managed to chew a hole through his Byaakugan blind spot, and nestle eggs in his brain.

_BAKA! _His mind screamed.

Neji was hell pissed.

But it wasn't due to the fact that his uncle would kill him when the lie was unveiled. Nor was it the fact that _SAKURA_ would kill him upon her own discovery.

What was it, then, that drove the Hyuuga absolutely insane?

Simple.

The more the Hyuuga thought about it, the more he felt that Sakura was his best bet. And that drove him MADD.

Don't get him wrong, Neji had ZERO romantic feelings for the girl. Heck, she was the LAST girl he'd ask to marry (with the exception of Ino). He barely knew her.

The thing was, she WAS the last girl. All the other females had been engaged in a romantic relationship with one of his shinobi comrades. Of all the rumors Neji had heard, Sakura still had not even settled down with so much as a boyfriend yet. And as impossible as that seemed, it was true. The Hyuuga couldn't figure out why, though. He'd bite his own tongue off before admitting this out loud, but he thought the kunoichi was rather pretty. She was a simple kind of beauty, the kind he preferred over extravagant make-up beauty that washed away in tears or rain. Neji had even heard that she was one of the most requested nurses upon the male population in Konoha hospital, due to the fact that she was young, light-skinned, curvy, and very attractive. He'd figured there'd be at LEAST fifty guys lined around the block for her. Even his own teammate, Lee had fallen under her spell. Why hadn't the green beast at least beg for date with the kunoichi? Was he that shy?

Then Neji remembered that his comrade would EXTERMINATE him if he ever found out about his little lie. HIS Sakura? Engaged to HIS best friend? The bushy-browed boy would keel over and die at the news.

But Neji didn't WANT to marry her…

…He just wanted her to pretend.

Yes. That was his 'brilliant' plan. Completely idiotic.

Neji had the intellect of a full certified ANBU, and a strategic mind parallel to even the great Shikamaru…

…And yet THIS was the best plan he could think of at the moment.

This whole marriage thing was slowly ripping Neji apart. He wanted an easier escape rope, but knew there would be none. He'd have to get out of this on his own.

Neji got up and dusted off his pants. He'd have to ask the girl if she could pretend for a while. Just to buy him enough time to learn the succession technique. Then, he could "break up" with her and say that it wasn't meant to be. Even his uncle would understand and relate with fate and destiny.

As much as Neji hoped it would be simple, he knew very well that it was not. Even the first step was not guaranteed. He wasn't sure how Sakura would take the news. Her first reaction would be predictable. She'd absolutely refuse and be angry at Neji for using her. Then, Neji would be completely screwed.

Ahh well. He had no choice now. He was screwed anyway. No loss in trying.

Neji walked over to a low tree, where his white towel hung, and wiped the perspiration off his muscular body. He normally NEVER indecently paraded the forests of Konoha completely shirtless, but he couldn't help it. Even with the low temperature of dawn, the summer humidity was suffocating. The thought of sweating buckets under robes of garments did not seem so appealing to him. Besides, barely anyone was awake yet. No one would catch him half naked.

Neji cringed as he slid on his household tunic and tied the belt around his rock solid abdomen, feeling icky. As much as he'd like to run home without his shirt, the route home was through Konoha streets, and he could not risk being seen bear-chested. It would cause too much controversy in his household that he was currently not in the mood of hearing.

Looking at the rising sun, Neji calculated half an hour until he would be called to his ANBU training. He had just enough time to return home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. On the way, he could rehearse the words he would use to ask Sakura's cooperation. At that thought, the Hyuuga sighed.

_Yare Yare. How complicated life has gotten._

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Neji could have sworn he had something on his face.

A spec. A bug. A pimple…

…A BOOGER?

_Why the hell do they keep staring at me? _His genius mind demanded in growing irritation, as he briskly walked by the shops on Konoha streets. His proud character began to slowly deteriorate at the awkwardness of the people's looks. Almost everyone had stopped what they were doing just to gape at the passing Hyuuga.

Neji shoved his hands into his sleeves, unable to spot what it was they were staring at. Had he somehow unknowingly passed by a tree branch that snagged his pants, ripping them off while he paraded around like a pantless wonder?

The Hyuuga looked down and inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

The pants were still in tact.

WHAT THEN WERE THEY FRICKEN STARING AT?

Neji's thoughts were disrupted by a firm punch on the back, and he instantly recognized the reckless being.

"OY! NEJI!" came Naruto's loud and over-energetic call. Neji groaned. It was too early for this.

"What do you want?" he hissed, never failing to let it be known that he was immensely irritated. The fox boy, however did not pick up any signals. He shamelessly locked Neji's head into his curled arm and smothered him with noogies.

Neji immediately pulled away.

"Dammit, what the hell's wrong with you?"

Naruto snickered and quickly backed off. Rubbing his nose in a casual manner, he chuckled.

"You little hot-shot, you…Always gotta be number one in EVERYTHING." he deviously smiled before giving another breathtaking punch. "I just came to congratulate you!"

Neji rubbed his arm, silently hoping that his face did not reveal any pain. As much as he hated to admit it, the punch hurt.

"What are you talking about?" the Hyuuga asked, brushing off the stinging of the hit. It was far too early to even attempt to decode the blonde's useless babblings. The boy made absolutely NO sense at times.

Naruto waved a hand in front of his face, still grinning his trademark whiskered smile.

"Ahh, don't even TRY to pretend. Almost ALL of Konoha's talking about it. It's the biggest buzz on the streets." He rambled, completely loosing the Hyuuga. Neji hadn't a clue what the boy was talking about. He crunched his eyebrows together in confusion and annoyance.

"Konoha?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Naruto smacked Neji on the back and roared in laughter.

"You're totally slow today, Neji? You sure you're alright?" the boy questioned, squinting his eyes. He pulled back and belched out another deafening laugh, poking at Neji's arm. "NYA-HA! You can't think straight because you're totally HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE! So. Who's the unlucky girl?"

Neji completely froze at his words, eyes wide, blood running cold.

WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!

Without thinking twice, the Hyuuga grabbed Naruto's collar.

"WHAT exactly is Konoha _buzzing _about!" he exclaimed, teeth clenching.

This was not happening… This was **NOT** happening…

Naruto rubbed his nose again.

"SOMEONE'S touchy. DUH, Hyuuga! Your wedding? It's the talk of the village. You're finally getting hitched, huh? In two weeks too." He said matter-of-factly. "Soooo? Who did the cold, heartless bastard finally fall in love with?"

Naruto's taunting childish giggle was lost to Neji, along with all background sights and sounds. His head spun in sickening circles and he felt he was going to pass out. He knew Konoha was a friendly sharing village, but he never knew just how _sharing_ they were! It had only been a day! _EVERYONE_ knew of his supposed marriage?

Neji immediately traced the source of the disaster to his uncle. His uncle was responsible for this! Neji was happy that Hiashi had spared his life, but he didn't realize his uncle was actually PROUD of the match! Proud enough to announce it to the whole fricken village?

_Holy freaking crap._

The Hyuuga immediately forgot about the fox boy and dropped him like a fly. He spun chakra into the soles of his feet and ran as fast as they could carry him, leaving Naruto in a flabbergasted state, unable to identify what just happened. In mere seconds, he was nearing his family mansion.

Oh, his uncle would have a lot of explaining to do.

**_A LOT_** of explaining.

**Author's Note: **Yes, I again apologize for the delay and for the shortness of this chapter. It really is MUCH longer but I thought it wouldn't be so good on the eyes, so I decided to divide it into two chapters, instead of one. I should be finishing the next one soon, and I would again like to request for patience. I'm terribly sorry if I disappointed you in this chapter by not revealing much, but things will unravel soon enough, I assure.

Thank you, my little duckies, and PLEASE review!

It'll help with the writer's block that is attempting to suck me into his vortex of doom.

"_BACK OFF, MONSTER! I HAVE A PEN AND I KNOW HOW TO USE IT!" _

Hahaha. That's all for now.

Ja mata!


	6. HOTsprings

**Author's Note: **I am sad. I've been reading a lot of forums out there about favourite characters and all that… SAKURA-BASHERS are so mean! They're all saying how they want her to die a horrific painful death or something…Uh! That's terrible! I mean, sure she was totally annoying when it came to Sasuke, and sure she was completely useless… And let's not forget she was so cold shoulder to Naruto who's been trying to get her attention for AGES. But I really think bashers should give her a chance! I did. After all, the series is FAR from over and Kishimoto has A LOT up his sleeve for the girl, no doubt. I admit, I HATED her with an undying passion at the beginning, and I frequently begged for Kishimoto to create a better female character, but as the series progressed, the girl grew on me. She really SHOULD be given a chance. Hello? She was TWELVE when the series first started. I think ALL GIRLS are ANNOYING at that age when it comes to boys. I like her, and I think she's gonna be a total kick butt character in the end. And please don't compare her to Hinata. I like both of them in different ways. Strength-wise, Hinata would totally kick Sakura's bum because HEY! SHE HAS THE BLOODY BYAAKUGAN AND IS PART OF A LONG LINE OF STRONG SHINOBIS! For someone with absolutely ZERO special ability and no family shinobi ties… I think Sakura will SMACK ASS all the way to Jupiter SOON TIMES, my friends, SOON TIMES (Just like Lee did, after he accepted the fact that he cannot mold chakra). Hinata and her are just really different, and I don't think they're really comparable. They're both great characters, so please leave it at that. (I'm sorry, I hate character comparisons. Makes me so MADDDD.) I like Sakura cuz she's the underdog, who will no doubt surpass even the GREATEST (besides Naruto). I'm sorry if I rambled on too long about something as silly as CARTOONS. I just got a bit defensive cuz I was like Sakura when I was younger. She's a late bloomer who was judged far too quickly (like I was). Take it from me, it hurts, seriously.

Just you wait till the end of this series. She will totally rock.

So that was my rambling for the day. The moral is, SAKURA-BASHERS SHOULDN'T BASH UNTIL THEY SEE WHAT SHE CAN DO AFTER THE SERIES IS OVER. If the series finishes, and she is still completely useless, then go right ahead and bash all you want. BUT SINCE IT'S NOT, I think the only one who deserves a SLAP right now is Orochimaru, cuz right now Sakura's just getting warmed up. MIND YOU, She's STILL GROWING UP! So for all you Naruto fans out there, you can have whatever top fav characters all you want, just DON'T bash Sakura. I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. (not really, but you get what I mean.)

gives five to Sakura

OKAY! Well you can tell I really wanted to post THAT in a forum but didn't have the guts. Ahh, beautiful world of Fanfiction. Where I can find many people who agree with me. THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS. You SO TOTALLY ROCK. Seriously. I love you all.

ALRIGHTY! Well, enough doddling for today. Let's get this CHAPTER STARTED!

I feel much better now.

_**Zarrah-chan**_

**Chapter 6**

To his utmost disappointment, Neji found an empty Hyuuga household.

He growled and struck the nearest wall, not hard enough for it to be reduced to rubble, but adequate enough to discharge some accumulating steam. The young Hyuuga had been so ready to give his uncle some lip upon broadcasting unnecessary news to the whole village of Konoha. When he discovered an abandoned mansion, Neji fumed.

Controlling anger had been one of the Hyuuga's greater traits, so he managed not to explode in an enraged frenzy. However, that did not prevent him from feeling the grip of resentment towards his uncle. Mere words could not describe how infuriated he was. The supposed _quiet_ Head of the Hyuuga family apparently had a bigger mouth than the endless chatterbox, Uzumaki Naruto.

Neji felt his face boil and instantly felt childish. Anger wasted too much energy, in which he would later need for ANBU training. Instead, he decided to cool off, and optimism seemed his only alternative.

_At least he didn't specify WHO I was engaged too… _the young Hyuuga gratefully thought, after remembering Naruto's series of inquiries moments before. If Naruto had known the identity of his supposed fiancée, Neji was sure he'd throw a fit. Although the fox boy had outgrown his long-term crush on the pink-haired kunoichi, he still felt a strong feeling of possessiveness over her. After all, they had been teammates for so long. He felt responsible for her well-being.

Neji immediately cursed the meddling lives of the Konoha citizens. Why were they so suddenly interested in his private love affairs? Not like he HAD any.

_Because… _he reminded himself. _They know I'm not the type to fall in love…_

Neji scoffed.

He STILL wasn't in love. He'd been threatened to tell a complete lie in which he would have to sell his soul to the devil before actually having the ability to pull it off. Haruno Sakura was nothing more than a pawn in his 'genius' plot to learn the Hyuuga succession technique. But of course, THEY didn't know that.

And neither did she.

Ahh… This was the biggest mistake of his life.

Neji stroked his temples at the migraine feeding off of his anxiety. He needed SOME sort of relaxation… FAST.

Remembering the initial reason of returning to his humble abode, Neji scrounged the house for a clean towel. Feeling grossly sticky from the work-out, the Hyuuga longed for a bath to recover his sense of hygiene. Cleanliness was, after all, next to godliness.

A towel draped over the edge of his bedroom chair indicated that the maids had already anticipated his wish to freshen up, and planned ahead. Grateful for their forward thinking, Neji slipped off his shirt and exchanged the towel for his damp and musky tunic. In the company of no one but himself at home, the Hyuuga's shame for being indecently half-naked soon evaporated, and his drive for a soothing bath soon dominated over all emotions.

However, instead of taking the usual route to the bathing quarters of the mansion, Neji decided on impulse to retreat outside. At the rate his headache was evolving, the young man desired more than just a bath. He needed a sanctuary out of the hell hole he carelessly created for himself. And there was no place more serene than the Hyuuga Hot springs.

Neji exhaled at the recollection of its blissful features. It wasn't far from the mansion, about five minutes walk into the estate forest. It was a place quite secluded from the motions and stress of everyday life, and it was completely unmentioned to anyone outside the family name. The location was rumored to be inhabited by divine creatures who were rejuvenated by the peaceful regenerating waters. Every once in a while, a Hyuuga member would go there to seek quietude and unravel burdens that rested on their shoulders. The maids often came there only to maintain its natural beauty, untainted by pollution. It was a lovely place to unfold, and for Neji, the PERFECT place to escape.

Taking the towel and an extra pair of slippers, Neji took a stroll to the secret getaway.

Upon entering the sacred clearing where the springs clustered, Neji released a heavy labored sigh. He dipped his feet into the nearest spring and removed his hakama, setting it off to the side. The water was perfectly tempered and calmingly still, and Neji couldn't help but close his pearl eyes in utter satisfaction. In his memory, no length of meditation was nearly as soothing as the magic of these springs.

The young shinobi's whole muscular body was now submerged into the depth of the water, and his head instinctively laid back on a rock at the ledge of the pool. Tension had suddenly unfurled from his muscles like wrapping on a candy bar. The air was still. The waters were still. And if Neji didn't check every now and then, he was sure that his heartbeat had also become as still as a corpse.

Massaging his shoulder blades, Neji then proceeded to remove the last piece of garment that rested on his body…

His forehead protector.

Shining the Konoha leaf emblem, Neji placed it aside, along with the pile of clothes that would have to be washed later. He wiped away the sweat beading along his hairline, and dipped his face into the pool of water collected in his hands. Even the Hyuuga prodigy's insecurities about the curse seal resting between his brows were faded into nothing at the relaxation of the springs.

This was absolutely breath-taking.

After a few silent moments, Neji let his mind drift into the state of enlightenment. He was completely aware that he did not posses a long time at the hideout, but he knew he would enjoy his time down to the last second. Thus, he allowed his genius mind to wander…as far away as imagination could take him. And despite what everyone had believed, Hyuuga Neji had QUITE the imagination.

Which could perhaps explain why he suddenly opened his eyes at the faint sensation of another being entering the sanctuary.

Imagination? Neji wasn't quite sure.

The white-eyed shinobi lifted his head and quietly activated his Byaakugan. Perhaps the stories of wandering divine creatures were actually true…

The bloodline limit scanned the ground around him, trying to locate the graceful presence of the intruder. Taking moments, he finally pinpointed the trespasser's site.

A soft wall of chakra had curtained her aura well, but nonetheless, she was still spotted by the Hyuuga's sharp eyes.

Neji peeked from his cover of thick bushes and instantly erected a genjutsu barrier that erased any detection of his presence.

What the Hyuuga saw almost made him scratch out his eyes in disbelief. Stress and delusion had him overwhelmed beyond comprehension.

"Tennyo?" he breathed in mixed surprise and skepticism. The creature before him had the grace of a divine being, and Neji had so easily mistaken her for a heavenly maiden.

_Ridiculous, _his mind debated in hypothesizing a better conclusion. _There has to be a logical explanation for this. _

Illusion was definitely toying with his mind and getting the better of him.

A bathing water goddess?

With pink hair?

The moment the maiden's face was revealed, Neji nearly choked at the sudden closing of his throat. A rush of hot blood pumped his heart like a Gatling gun, and his breath staggered erratically like a rattling tambourine.

Of all places, WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS HARUNO SAKURA DOING HERE!

Here. On his property. In his springs. Of ALL PEOPLE!

It took all of the Hyuuga's brute strength to keep him from walking over to her and demanding a reason of why she was here.

Neji stifled an aggravated sigh. Was there absolutely NO PLACE in the world for privacy anymore? The man could barely take a single step into solitude before being interrupted by the next complication that threw itself into his path!

He tried to silence his racing heart while attempting to conjure up his next move. What in God's name was he supposed to do?

Neji shifted as quietly as he could in the water to relieve his stiff craned neck. He was surprised that in all his restlessness, she was completely oblivious to his existence. On top of that, she wasn't even aware of the barrier he had summoned. Wasn't she the genjutsu specialist of team seven?

The Hyuuga gazed upon the kunoichi's sun-stroked face and suddenly realized her obvious expression.

Haruno Sakura was sad.

With keen observation, Neji examined her emerald eyes, which were now lowered in a mild state of distress. He watched as she rubbed the back of her neck, as if she had just finished straining herself in a vigorous work-out, all while stroking a spellbinding violet flower. Tear-stained cheeks told the Hyuuga that she had been crying over an issue that she preferred to keep to herself. And for her to find herself in a getaway like this, he knew she was desperate for a mental escape rope.

The kunoichi stirred, breaking the white-eyed shinobi from his gawking state. He immediately jerked his head away to avert his gaze. A pink hue spread across his face, tainting his rather stubborn and arrogant demeanor. Embarrassment had stained his cheeks at the fact that he had been staring so intently at a naked woman.

…Well, almost naked.

Neji was grateful for the blue towel wrapped securely around her underarms, covering areas not meant for the male eyes. Actually, for a woman evidently bathing, she was quite conservative with her body, and kept adjusting the towel higher, as if conscious of peeping eyes…

…_His_ peeping eyes.

Neji brushed off that thought. He wasn't REALLY peeping. The Hyuuga had NO interest in seeing a full-grown woman bathe. She just happened to be there the exact same time as he.

Regardless of Neji's inner persuading that tried to convince his lack of fault, the man felt terribly filthy at even having set eyes on the young (and attractive) woman behind him. The Hyuuga suddenly found himself perspiring along the temples, and boiling in the face. As distant and aloof as he appeared to be, Neji was still a man, with raging hormones pumping through his system, reacting violently to the appearance of a smooth-skinned, gorgeous-eyed, curvy and attractive girl. Managing restraint was mandatory for him not to disgrace the Hyuuga family name by irrational thoughts and actions.

The shinobi then decided that disengaging his Byaakugan was the best option he had at the moment. He knew that his special bloodline limit would still be able to see the girl, despite a 180 degree turnaround on his behalf, so he immediately blinked his normal eyes back into play.

Neji hushed his rapid breathing and listened for her departure…silently pleading to God that it would occur soon. With perked ears that were elevated in the sense of hearing, Neji predicted her movements by their sound.

At first, he heard nothing, but listened long enough to hear soft sniffles. The girl had begun to shed tears once again.

"I'll be ready…" the Hyuuga found her muttering. "It won't be that bad."

Neji was a bit confused at her outer ramblings, but chose not to dwell on them. This was supposed to be her private time alone and he vastly respected isolate thinking time (since he apparently received NONE). He had no need to investigate on what she was talking about, nor any desire, really, to find out what was upsetting her.

…Still, her anguish concerned the Hyuuga a bit….At least, more than he was willing to admit. Tears just didn't belong on her regularly cheerful face, and he found it odd to have experienced first hand her change of mood.

Neji was again, broken from his train of thought by the rousing of the pink-haired kunoichi. Like a bat's sonar vision, he envisioned her every move by the sound that she made. This time, Sakura got out from the hot spring and slipped on wooden clogs.

"I'm late…" he heard her sigh. That seemed to be a common phrase from the girl lately and Neji began to question her rumored sense of responsibility.

The kunoichi then rustled to wrap herself in prepared robes, and then proceeded to trot off to her awaiting destination.

At her disappearance, Neji released his chakra curtain and normalized his breathing pattern.

That was just too close for comfort.

The Hyuuga shook angry fists at himself and his recent reactions to her appearance. He'd never perspired so many buckets of sweat around anyone before, other than his uncle who made him immensely terrified for his life at times. Why did she intimidate him so much? It wasn't as if the girl were strong or anything… Well, from his perspective. There was gossip that she had the mirrored strength, beauty, and intelligence of the fifth Hokage but he couldn't acknowledge that fact yet primarily because he hadn't witnessed her in action. But even still, he was NOT intimidated by her. Why then did he feel like such a coward in her presence?

Neji peered at the sky and its brightening light. He kissed his teeth at his time-conscious carelessness, upon calculating his time line. The sky read that he should have been on his way to the ANBU training grounds as of that moment. And yet, there he was, doddling and wrinkling like a prune in the hot springs.

Reluctant to leave the comfort of his sanctuary, Neji finally stood up and dried himself off. He wrapped the towel around his abdomen and slithered into his extra pair of slippers.

Neji flung his clothes over his shoulder and hurried in the opposite direction of the kunoichi, towards his home. Brushing off any remaining thoughts of the girl, the Hyuuga resumed his icy poker-face ritual, all while growling at his tardiness for his shinobi training.

As the young man rushed off to report to his duties, he was completely oblivious to the rows of devious fates, smiling down upon the match they had just discovered.

Strings were ready, cords were set, and little Miss Destiny was ready to play.

**Author's notes: **Oy, vey. I very much hate school. Blame IT for the delay of this chapter. Again, I'm terribly sorry for the shortness of this chapter but I had to finish an assignment. Haha. I hope you all understand.

Anyway, I hope I didn't disappoint you. Really, even though this is moving a lot slower than I had anticipated, I really like the detail I put into their thoughts. Please have patience. I rather like this story and I do plan on continuing it. I've grown to LOVE this pairing, just cuz their characters are so…… compatible. UBER cute, I admit. For the Gaara/Saku fans, I'll be sure to add their stuff later, but right now I wanted to focus on Neji/Saku, primarily because I had originally intended it to be so. But don't you worry. Everything will unravel soon times, duckies.

Oh, By the way, _Tennyo _refers to mythical divine maidens who often bathed in hotsprings much like Neji's. Haha, I got the idea from the Inuyasha second movie, and I thought it would be nice to put that into play on Neji's part.

Anyway, thanks for reading! And You **_know_** what makes me SMILE! winks

ARIGATO!


	7. China set

**Author's notes: **Omg, _RoCkeRShiKO28,_ you are too cool. You and I are TOTALLY alike. Your comment made me HAPPY. Seriously, we share the EXACT same views. I'm not too crazy about the ever-so-popular pairing of Sakura/Sasuke. I mean, it's totally expected, but I'm not a roaring fan anymore. I really like Neji/Saku much better than Neji/Ten, and I agree that there are not enough good Neji/Saku fics out there. For some reason, Neji/Ten didn't click, even from the beginning for me. So I hope that I do my best in impressing you with this fic. And Sakura bashers are NOT COOL. Hahaha. Oh, hunnie YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND. Hahahhaa. Crazy cool. By far, MY FAVOURITE REVIEWER. (I still LOVE everyone as much!)

Anyway, thanks for the positive feedback, everyone. I'm not even sure which pairing will reign supreme in the end… Maybe if I hold an unofficial POLL, I can get ideas on how to end this story.

Gaara/Saku?

Or

Neji/Saku?

Lemme know what you guys think!

Oh, by the way, I probably haven't mentioned this, but Sakura is still a med-nin. She just does nurse work on the days she isn't called out for missions. Medic-nin does NOT translate into just nurse. Haha thanks anonymous reviewer for pointing that out.

Anyway. Well let's see where my keyboard takes our little couple.

Zarrah-chan

**Chapter 7**

"Oi, Neji. You're late."

Irritation began to grit its teeth around the Hyuuga's last string of patience and it took him all his energy to resist from striking at the nearest guy in the face.

"I apologize." came his bored response. "It won't happen again."

Neji crossed his arms and stood in his rightful position between the other ANBU trainees. Closing his eyes, the Hyuuga chose to ignore the series of wide eyes that stared him down condescendingly at his delay in attendance.

Five minutes and thirty-two seconds.

Neji was tardy by that much.

Now, if it had been just anyone, that small amount of time wouldn't have mattered very much. But this was a VERY big deal; one, because he was supposedly a future ANBU member, and two, because it was HYUUGA NEJI! Tardiness was not enlisted in his rather large vocabulary. Never, in his entire career as a shinobi had he been anything other than early for training drills and examinations.

Until that morning.

At that shocking fact, the rest of the team gawked at him in speechlessness.

Neji remained unmoved, despite his inner ignition of annoyance. ONE fricken time he was late and they acted as if the world had ended.

...Well, that fact rang rather true in Neji's case. Neji's world HAD ended, the moment he had lied to his uncle.

The Hyuuga shoved clenched fists into his pockets as the ANBU commander paced back and forth, inspecting the line of trainees. When the commander passed by him, he grunted.

"Zip your vest up, Hyuuga." He dictated strictly. "You're quite sloppy today."

That comment gnawed deeply into Neji's high ego. Normally, he wouldn't be so easily fazed by such remarks about his appearance as what his superior said, but for some reason today, it greatly bothered him. To the Hyuuga, nothing was more appreciated than complete honesty, but his commander's comment was just being rude.

Neji bitterly nodded and did as he was instructed. Zipping up his vibrant green jounin vest, the white-eyed shinobi noticed that he actually WAS rather sloppy. His black turtleneck was creased and wrinkly, his vest collar was carelessly tucked in, and his hair was still dripping wet from his bath. It was the terrible aftermath of his panic and dismay at the realization of his belatedness.

Neji attempted to straighten out his rugged mess in great humiliation. Ten seconds flat was a new record for him in getting dressed, and it reflected quite vividly on his exterior. Doing this caused more eyes and stifled giggles to fall on him at his utmost vexation.

Second worst day of his life.

The ANBU commander and his comrades ignored the massive burning that the Hyuuga was receiving, and proceeded with the agenda for their training.

"As you know," a tall bulky ninja began, "We've been studying the anatomy of a human for several weeks now and I do realize that it has become quite a boring subject."

The group nodded in unison.

"However, it was indeed a vital part of your training. You may already be aware that the common ANBU mission is to simply assassinate in TOTAL silence and stealth. Today, you will be applying your anatomy study with the ANBU fighting method."

The man signaled for the other ANBU assistants to allocate the weapon of choice for that particular session. Immediately, the assistants had dispersed to follow directions.

When the distribution was completed, each of the trainees found themselves carrying a pouch full of long, slender, and extremely sharp needles. The trainees took out the weapon to examine it, while the commander continued his explanation.

"As a team, you have learned the absolute critical points of the human body. You've assessed pressure points, and chakra pore points, as well as open nerves, vulnerable muscles, and precise locations of the vital organs. Also, you have been taught the art of breaking the paralysis if ever you are hit in any of these spots.

"Today, you will have the opportunity to practice the art of silent assassination with the use of these simple needles. This will also allow you to work on aim as well as competence on how to foil another's attempt to kill you if they use this method."

The line of trainees peered at one another and then back at their weapons. A tingle of nervousness crept into each and every one of their systems. The task sounded simple, but they knew that it was far harder than any jounin could handle, which was exactly why the kind of assassination was assigned for ANBU only. The difficulty level was ranked a sky-rocketing 9.5, and almost all of them had high doubts.

When the commander stepped out, the team returned their attention back to him.

"Finally," he said, tossing the group a handful of trademark ANBU masks, "You will be using this tactic on _each other_, to practice both attack and defense."

In the midst of the silence, Neji was sure to have heard a gulp of anxiety in everyone's heads. He too, had felt the dread of doubt in the session. Although he had the assistance and upper hand of the Byaakugan, shooting the slender needles from far distances into exact pinpoint locations was difficult even for the Hyuuga. He, after all, was a short-ranged fighter. On top of that, he was still iffy on how to break the paralysis, should he ever be caught in one. It suddenly occurred to him that he was completely distracted and had not been paying attention (due to his marriage dilemma) when they were studying the paralysis release unit.

Neji fidgeted.

He would simply not get caught.

The team was led to an area overflowing with old trees, thick moss, and choking vines. The sunlight almost seemed to vanish under the cavern of old oaks hovering over them. The scenery was dark, eerie, and utterly perfect for their training session.

When the trainees had lined up again for final instructions, the commander signaled for them to mask their identity. Respectfully, each one slipped on colorful faces of animals ranging in variety.

Neji fingered his mask delicately before covering his face with the plastic-like material. The wolf seemed to compliment his character well and he grew rather accustomed to it. It was much lighter than he had anticipated and it almost seemed to latch onto his face, as if it was exactly who he was. The strong and mighty northern White Wolf.

The commander lifted his wrist to adjust a button on his digital watch.

"This session will be quick. Forty minutes should suffice, as that is approximately the amount of time a normal assassination should take, minus the hours of prep work. You will be evaluated on speed, stealth, and skill. Deductions will occur if you are hit, but a point will be added if you are able to break the effect in five seconds or less. If you are hit and are unable to reverse the paralysis in the allotted time, there is a flare in your pouches that you should ignite. It will signal your elimination as well as a need for help. Anything past ten seconds is severely dangerous and should be treated right away. A team of medic nins are dispatched in this forest and will come to your aid if needed."

The commander's long-winded speech was broken for a moment by the lighting of a cigarette. He took a smoke and then immediately tossed it away, as if the one puff was all he needed to satisfy. He then proceeded to begin the session. A finger hovered above the watch timer and the trainees bent low to prepare for the sound-off.

Neji felt the adrenaline pump excited pulses through his veins. This was exhilarating. Nothing made his heart thump faster than the danger of shinobi work. This was what he woke every morning for. He ate, slept, and breathed shinobi life, and it was enough to keep him sustained through the hour long uncle-lectures, or the burden of being a branch-off curse. This was what he TRULY lived for.

The line of nine trainees shuffled in anxiety, eagerly awaiting the cue to begin.

"By the way," the commander snorted, "If you shoot one of the medics, accident or not, you automatically fail. That's a no brainer."

The team deflated in the exhaustion of prolonged adrenaline rush and the commander almost chuckled. But he needn't torture them longer. They'd find that they were capable of doing that themselves later on.

"Hajimete." He said sharply.

Faster than the blink of an eye, they all vanished...

Neji crouched low on a high branch and let out a sigh. He was bored. He thought that this would have been a far greater challenge, but the circumstances proved him wrong. It was already thirty-five minutes into the session and he had only spotted three others. He'd managed to eliminate two men by locking the ankles of one, and exploding the chakra system of another. Both had been rushed to by Konoha medical nins due to their delay in breaking the attack. By the readings of the computer signs marked on the trees, there were only three left. Him included.

Although the Hyuuga wasn't entertained, he still kept his guard up. He admitted, he hadn't even broken into a sweat or rapid panting, but he couldn't take his chances. There were still two stubborn ones in the group and he was determined on bringing them all down.

Neji peered into his pouch and found that four needles were left, along with the green emergency flare. Two needles per ninja, he calculated, and smiled upon his good luck. That was more than enough. He'd only need one shot.

In disappointment, the Hyuuga looked at the computer clock. Three minutes were remaining and he doubted anyone would stumble his way in that little time. At this, he frowned and tucked his pouch away. He had wanted to be the only one who passed the session so that the others could glower in his glory, a repayment of his embarrassment prior to the start of the session. But by the looks of it, Neji knew that the other two men would pass by default.

Neji laid back and allowed himself to relax a while, still wishing to unfurl like he did in the hot springs. His time was cut terribly short and it wasn't nearly enough to relieve him of the building stress in his genius head. Adding to that, his solitude was disrupted by an unwelcome intruder.

The white-eyed shinobi's thoughts were strangely led to the pink-haired kunoichi who had found her way onto the discreet Hyuuga property. It pissed him off slightly, that she had trespassed. Had she no respect for another's privacy?

He thought back to her tears and wondered what had been upsetting her to the point of crying. She had been known in his mind as the excessively cheerful, Uchiha-loving girl of team seven. Tears were not common to her bright face, other than the ones weeping foolishly over the Uchiha prodigy.

Neji shuddered. Uchiha Sasuke was NOT a pleasant thought. The bastard was a stupid man, leaving behind what anyone would so deeply cling to, for the sake of an evil and dark power that would eventually corrode his entire being. Sasuke had it all: A best friend, a faithful teacher, and a girl who loved him more than the sunshine itself.

The Hyuuga was baffled. In all his geniuses, he could not comprehend how ANY girl could fall for Sasuke. He sure didn't know Sakura very well, but he knew her well enough to know that she deserved far better than the Uchiha prodigy. The guy didn't even have the desire in returning to her open arms.

Neji paused a while. Was that the reason why the girl still had no boyfriend? Was she still waiting for him to return out of oblivion and suddenly find the passion to be with her?

Neji snorted. If that was the case, then the girl was stupider than everyone was led to believe. If she was clinging onto a hopeless fantasy, then she would be doomed to die an old and lonely hag.

The slight tang of bitterness crept into the Hyuuga thoughts unnoticed. It wasn't as if he cared about what happened to the girl or her delicate feelings. He just felt that it was useless to waste such precious emotions on a heartless, sharingan-eyed bastard who would NEVER return her feelings in a billion and one years. Such tender sentiments were needed to be nurtured by one who shared the same passion. Her romantic fantasies shouldn't have been about the Uchiha, only to have it crushed at his disappearance.

Perchance, it was the fact that Neji had declared her his fiancée to his uncle, but he suddenly felt a surge of possessiveness over her.

_She was a stupid girl_. Neji thought, dismissing the topic. _A Stupid, stupid girl._

Neji was broken from the subject, and turned his attention to his keen eyes, detecting the presence of someone nearby. In his excitement, the Hyuuga loaded two needles between his knuckles. Perhaps he WOULD get some stimulation in the final moments of the session.

Straining chakra into his pear orbs, he focused his energy on the figure behind a tree. He would fire in three…two…

One…

Neji froze when the figure stepped out from the shadows, and he nearly fell off the tree.

"Dammit." He cursed upon seeing the white-hooded shinobi standing beneath him. The Konoha leaf and red-cross symbol indicated that the person was a med-nin, who was NOT to be shot.

It was a terribly close call on Neji's behalf and he detested his carelessness. Elimination for him was not so far after all.

The Hyuuga breathed to get his cold blood pumping again. The blasted medic shinobis had almost cost him his victory… And it was so close too…

Neji peered down at the medic who seemed oblivious of his presence. Out of sheer boredom, he cloaked himself in illusive chakra, to disguise any traces of his presence. He didn't want it to be reported that he had almost shot down a medic.

Impatience fatigued him as he glanced at the timer. Still one minute to go. This would be the longest session he could remember.

Suddenly, Neji was greeted by the figure of a clearly identified ANBU trainee in the tree across from him. The Hyuuga smiled at his good fortune. Lady Luck seemed to have been giving him another chance.

Remaining his cover, Neji prepared to fire his weapons.

Surprise had caught him when the medic nin reappeared in a flash before him, surprising both himself, and the shinobi across from him. In panic, the other ANBU trainee instinctively shot a needle into the direction of the sudden commotion.

Neji's actions were quick.

With perfect accuracy, the Hyuuga shot one of his needles to flick the other needle out of the target range of the Medic-nin.

_What the hell is he thinking?_ Neji thought, as a strange protectiveness for the Medic-nin engulfed him. _The idiot's gonna get himself eliminated._

Neji had not calculated the consequences of his actions, and before long, his position was revealed.

The other ANBU trainee was swift to disappear from Neji's range of vision.

Too quick for comprehension, Neji found himself on the forest floor, completely paralyzed. Even his breathing had been cut off. DAMMIT. His compassion had just cost him a couple of points.

One second.

Neji tried squirming but to no avail, nothing moved.

Three seconds.

Neji located the needle was in the exact radius of his Byaakugan blind spot, and in the EXACT location of a pressure nerve that paralyzed his whole body.

Five seconds.

Neji was completely rendered useless. On top of that, panic had caused him to use the little oxygen his lungs had left.

Seven seconds.

Neji hated the thought of being eliminated. His eyes had just gotten a glimpse of the computer screen that crossed his name out.

Nine seconds.

The Hyuuga's vision became a blur, and spots of black began blotching around him, igniting another panic flag in his mind. He was on the edge of danger. Just about to tip over…

…

A wind of fresh air exploded in Neji's lungs as the black spots evaporated. Slowly pivoting his head, the Hyuuga met eyes with his savior who had granted him ability to move again.

Emerald eyes caught his winded gaze.

"You okay?"

Oh, the fates, no doubt, had something to do with the turn of events in the Hyuuga's world.

"Haruno." Came his weak, yet dark reply.

It was the second time he was fazed by her appearance.

The two were quiet a moment, simply staring at each other in silence. Then, a small smile crept over the kunoichi's lips.

"You're okay." She said, before the loud foghorn sounded, indicating the end of the session. Immediately, medic-nins, and ANBU trainees sprang out from the tangle of trees to gather in their lecture field.

Neji was stunned, back glued to the ground, and eyes stuck on the girl who had just rescued him. He did NOT know what had hit him, and it took a while for him to piece himself together. My God, it was as if the girl followed him like a shadow…

Why was she here?

The Hyuuga, in an enraged state of embarrassment, tried to get up from his position. To his surprise, he fell back limply. The pink-haired kunoichi luckily had held him by the shoulders and moved behind his head to support it with her lap.

"Whoopsie." She laughed, as if a mother coaxing her two-year-old son to get up after learning to walk. "You're still a bit woozy from the paralysis. Give yourself a bit more time to recover." She forcefully placed his head down to rest on her thighs and Neji instantly obeyed. The paralysis had stripped buckets of energy out of him and he felt exhausted. He had not experienced such a weakened state ever since his battle with Naruto years ago. In his weakness, he felt terribly ashamed, and a hell of a lot pissed.

Neji inwardly glowered at the girl above him. It seemed recently that everywhere she went would mean a long night of sleepless migraines for him. Two days had passed and he was already sick of her. Now the question REALLY rattled his mind. Of all girls, WHY HAD HE LIED ABOUT HER?

In Sakura's oblivion to his growing hate for her, she patted his head and absently began stroking his chestnut locks. This caught Neji by utmost surprise. Her petite fingers fondled his hair like it was a work of art she was affectionately admiring. The Hyuuga's breath caught in his throat.

"Don't beat yourself up." She suddenly said, as if sensing his tension. "I've monitored a lot of ANBU training sessions like these and many people don't make it as far as you did. Just try your best tomorrow."

It must have been the lightness and carelessness of her tone, but Neji actually started believing her. For once, he did not feel so terrible about messing up his perfect record of Shinobi work. Sure, it tore him up inside that he did not pass, but it WAS after all training. Mistakes existed for learning experiences.

Neji shoved that thought off his mental cliff at his stubborn will to return to bitterness.

Ahh, what the hell did SHE know? As far as he knew, she was a lower-ranked jounin than he. No wonder she had been the shadow of Team Seven. With the kind of thinking she had, the girl would get absolutely nowhere in life. She had CLEARLY been immune to disappointment. The pressure of defeat was what kept a ninja in high ranks. She did not have what it took to be a successful ninja.

Neji said nothing and shrugged her off his shoulders while forcing himself up. It exerted far more energy than he had, but he would do ANYTHING to get away from the girl who tormented his genius intellect.

Sakura retracted her hands and allowed him to clumsily get up. She watched in defeat as his footwork wavered a bit before smoothening out. Neji pounded his stiff shoulder and then proceeded to meet the rest of his trainee colleagues.

"Thanks." He grunted and then left her to stare at him in pity.

It seemed that no matter how rude he tried to be with her, he'd always manage to blurt out something polite in the end...

Neji had managed to blow off some steam before retiring home late that night. He was still pretty upset at the three-hour long lecture he had received from the ANBU trainers at how disappointed they was at the low scores. Nevertheless, it wasn't something that a good hour of a hard work-out wouldn't cure. It seemed to the Hyuuga that his two greatest stress-relievers were training, and bathing in the springs. And if anything disrupted that, Neji was sure that he'd officially go insane.

The Hyuuga allowed himself to walk slower to his home, not wanting to discover what sort of trouble awaited him there. It had been a long day and Neji was not in the mood for another one of his uncle's ramblings.

It was rare, but Neji willed himself to actually enjoy the moonlight scenery of Konoha. The vision was really spectacular. Pink, Spring cherry blossoms were painted a creamy shade of blue in the light of the star-filled sky, and the air was refreshingly cool. For once, he rid himself of the constant problems that showered his mind, and compelled himself to breathe. Solitude was definitely best for him. Neji didn't need to marry to find comfort. He was perfectly contented on being alone if his days were as peaceful as the moment he held then. If only it wasn't so easily rippled by the concerns of the world that revolved around him…

Much to his dismay, Neji finally found his way up the Hyuuga mansion steps to enter the enormous household. It surprised him that at the particular hour, all the lights were still lit. The young Hyuuga didn't dwell on that fact long and shifted his focus to his desired bed. It was probably another late night Hyuuga elder meeting discussing his future in which he did not want to come. Drowning away the weight of his duties was best done in the comfort of clean white sheets draped over a soft futon. That, for the moment, was his mission.

Sliding the door closed, Neji soundlessly glided over the polished wooden floors, careful not to disturb the meeting across the hall. Stealth was definitely vital for him even at home. If he were caught, he'd be forced to sit through another hour of useless harangues about his failure as a Hyuuga male.

Neji made it past the first door unseen, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Three more sliding doors and he'd make it safely to his room.

Three…Two…

"NEJI!"

A booming voice startled the half-awake young shinobi to near death.

Ah crap. He was caught.

Neji straightened up and solemnly turned his body to face his uncle before bowing respectively. He would speak as calmly as his impatience could handle.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, Hiashi-sama. Please proceed with your meeting."

Neji was about to dismiss himself into his chambers when an intimidating laugh echoed from his uncle's firm gut. Neji wasn't sure what was so amusing and was slightly irritated at Hiashi's insensitivity.

"Nonsense, nephew! You will join us! We were having a delightful meeting." He chuckled while engulfing the reluctant Neji into his muscular arms. The young Hyuuga cringed at the painful insisting of his uncle and silently cursed himself for not being discreet enough. This would be a terribly long night after all…

Neji was dumbfounded upon meeting with pink hair and emerald eyes…

…The third time that day.

"Sakura?" Neji breathed, unable to hide the utter shock in his voice. His blood ran cold. She was HERE? With _HIS_ uncle? Now the world had definitely ended.

"Neji-san." Sakura nodded with a smile, ignoring his obvious sour astonishment. She moved her eyes to the elaborate cup she held in her small hands, and sipped some of the steaming hot tea in it.

Neji was still a manikin. He analyzed the situation and tried with all his might to predict what had been happening prior to his arrival. There, Sakura sat politely, in between his noble uncle, and timid cousin, sipping tea and looking as if they had been engaged in wonderful small talk.

The conclusions Neji was drawing in his head were not favorable in his pearl eyes. What if Hiashi had discovered his secret? Or worse, what if it was actually coming true!

Staring at the delicate china that was being used for the tea, Neji nearly fainted. Of all the thousands of tea sets that their family had owned, his uncle had undoubtedly chosen the wedding set. And COMPLETELY contrary to Neji's predictions, Hiashi was enjoying the pair more and more.

"You are quite late today in returning home, Neji. Were you training?" his uncle suddenly spoke, after another swag of green tea. Unfortunately, Neji had not been paying attention and kept his suspicious gaze on the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Ah." He exhaled absently after the question had registered into his brain. His pearl eyes made its way to give Hinata a long stare, in hopes to try to read the signals she was giving him.

His cousin spoke to him with her Byaakugan eyes, silently saying "I had no choice."

"Hinata was with me at the market-place," his uncle began explaining, upon catching the cousins' eye-talk. "I overheard her talking with a young woman named Haruno Sakura and I remembered that you had mentioned her. I asked Hinata to invite her over for tea after she finished her shinobi duties." Hiashi winked at his nephew. "She's quite the medical ninja. The Hokage herself has been tutoring her."

Neji would have slapped his head in utter embarrassment, had he not been in the stressful situation he was in now. He could tell that his uncle was TERRIBLY impressed with the pink-haired kunoichi, and Neji would not be so easily let off the hook. All he could do was shift his gaze from his uncle to Sakura and back. What exactly had he told her?

Hiashi gestured for Neji to sit in the tight spot between himself and Sakura and the young Hyuuga immediately felt his cheeks go red. His uncle was out to destroy him… And it was working like HELL.

Neji uncomfortably sat next to the kunoichi and inwardly grimaced when their shoulders and thighs touched. Gritting his teeth, he vowed that one day, he would SLAUGHTER his uncle in a slow and agonizing death.

Sakura was unaware of the risen tension as well as the close contact between them and continued her bubbly façade.

"The tea is delicious, Hiasha-sama. Thank you for inviting me here." She said, elaborately but genuinely. Hiashi beamed at her charm.

"My pleasure, child. You can come any time you want."

Neji felt like pinching himself. None of this was real. None of this made sense. Had Sakura accepted his "proposal" without his knowing? She was being far too kind…

Neji kept his gaze fixed on her eyes, waiting for her to break…waiting for her to burst out in laughter and tell them all that it was a cruel joke. To no avail, the young Hyuuga saw that the girl was serious. WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON!

Hiashi cleared his throat, attempting to ruffle the wave of silence that drifted over them.

"You've had your eyes fixed on Sakura since you got back, Neji. Something on your mind?" There was a slight tone of amusement in his voice.

Now THAT was a comment to slap a dark red across Neji's stern face. His uncle had caught him staring and had interpreted it in the totally wrong way. THIS WAS A BIG MESS… and Neji wasn't sure how to clean it.

Saying nothing, the young Hyuuga immediately averted his gaze from the kunoichi to prevent any future embarrassing events from happening. Anytime he was going to wake up now…

…Anytime…

Hiashi's grin deepened as he saw the two with their faces painted in scarlet. So his nephew had FINALLY fallen in love, and his choice was not so bad after all. Sakura would make an excellent addition to the Hyuuga family…

"Oh how rude." Hiashi said after remember something. "I completely forgot to congratulate you, Haruno Sakura."

Neji could have ripped his eyes out at the mental suffering he was enduring at the moment. That was if Sakura didn't beat him to it. In a nervous wreck, Neji poured himself a cub of tea and chugged it down like sake, hoping to relieve some of the stress overloading his circuits. He closed his eyes at the heat of the tea but continued to slide it down his throat nonetheless.

Sakura blushed more and touched her cheek at the warmth building in her face.

"A-arigato, Hiashi-sama." She said, a bit confused at his knowledge. _Is he talking about my engagement with Gaara? _She thought.

Neji kept pouring himself more tea, refusing to say anything.

It's a dream… It's a dream…

"When is the ceremony set?" Hiashi asked, and Neji was suddenly certain that Sakura still wasn't aware of his lie. She was innocently dragged here without the slightest clue of what was going on. The anxiety exploded in him. Sakura was sure to reveal the truth in any moment and at any second his life was sure to end…

Sakura crunched her eyebrows in confusion and Neji prepared for his elimination. Taking his last cup of tea, he guzzled it down drunkenly.

"Two weeks..." Came her baffled reply.

Neji nearly choked and spit on the tea that had so rapidly slithered down his throat. Was she SERIOUS? Had she KNOWN? Was she agreeing to the marriage then?

A billion and a half questions raced through Neji's mind and he wondered if Sakura and Hiashi were talking about the same thing. Was she honestly accepting his unofficial proposal? His mind swarmed. He wasn't sure if he liked that fact of spending the rest of his life with her! She was only BAIT! For him to get his beloved SUCCESSION TECHNIQUE!

Hiashi beamed even more.

"WONDERFUL! Then lost of planning must be done!" he exclaimed excitedly and Sakura nodded.

Neji let out a muffled groan. This was one HELL of a HELL he had built for himself.

While the young Hyuuga thought about his endless misery days, Sakura placed down her cup and motioned to get up.

"I'm terribly sorry to cut our fellowship short, but it really is very late and I have an examination to prepare for." She said, politely stacking the cups together and piling them on the tray. A firm hand stopped her when she attempted to bring the tray to the kitchen.

"I will not allow you to insult me by doing maid chores!" Hiashi smiled and placed the china down again. "Get some rest. You will need the strength in the next two weeks."

Sakura blushed again and then reluctantly nodded. She stood up and bowed once to Hinata, once to Neji, and a final one to Hiashi.

"Sumimasen." She pardoned.

Hiashi held up a hand.

"There's no need to be so polite in front of one another." He said. Neji winced at the expected instruction to come from his uncle's mouth. "Neji, it's quite dangerous for such a lovely young lady to walk alone by herself. Will you escort her back to her house?"

The question was more of a no-choice demand and Neji had no option but to follow orders. He sighed and stood up as Sakura headed for her shoes near the main doorway.

"Thank you." She bowed again before exiting through the sliding doors. Neji grudgingly was about to follow when Hiashi called for him again. Neji's patience was wearing thin.

"Yes, Hiashi-sama?" he said, not even attempting to hide his frustration. Hiashi ignored his nephew's bad mood and tossed him a light robe with the Hyuuga symbol stitched into the back. His uncle winked.

"It's cold out tonight. She'll need this." He said and then disappeared behind the sliding door.

Neji could see his silhouette hovering at the door frame's opening and he could just read the smug look in his uncle's eyes.

"And Neji? Try not to stay up TOO Late."

With the playful tone left to linger in Neji's tortured mind, Hiashi sauntered off into his chambers.

Neji angrily huffed into the night, joining the kunoichi in their moonlight stroll.

It _was_ cold after all.

**Author's Note: **AIYA! Poor little Neji-kun.

HAhahahahha. I LOVE this.

Btw, it's really late and I haven't the strength to proofread so if there are mistakes, please know that I was half-asleep when writing this.

Update should be soon.

Zarrah-chan


	8. Midnight stroll

**Author's Note: **I'm on a hunt. Anyone wanna tell me places of good Neji/Saku fanfics and fanarts are?

I'd LOVE some of that.

Zarrah-chan

**Chapter 8**

Sakura rubbed her bare arms for warmth on the cool evening air. Through the corner of her eye, she could faintly make out the stoic posture of her midnight escort beside her, eyes closed and hands shoved in his sleeves. The two walked slowly and silently towards the other side of town to where the Harunos resided.

It had been a strange day for Sakura, with all of her duties suddenly ending in an encounter with a Hyuuga. It was odd knowing that in the last two days, she'd been in close contact with the family prodigy three times already. In the eighteen years of her life, she had never recalled seeing him so often. He was, after all, on a different team and a higher ninja rank than her. Heck, she didn't even think Neji would know she existed, if it weren't for his bushy-browed teammate and his infatuation with her. Neji was the type of man who never looked twice in the direction of things that had nothing to do with his success as a shinobi.

…And yet, here he was, walking her home.

Sakura chewed on that thought. Why _had _she been invited to the Hyuuga residence for something as casual as tea? The only member of the clan that she had shared a relationship with was her best friend, Hinata, and yet in all their years of friendship, the shy girl had never once requested a visit from her to the respected mansion.

Now, out of oblivion, the kind invitation had been offered to Sakura alone –NOT by Hinata, but by her father, Hiashi.

Out of courtesy, Sakura gladly accepted, but was a little baffled by the random invite. The pink-haired kunoichi hadn't known the elder Hyuuga very well and she didn't think the man was humble enough to ask for her company with tea (especially a Haruno, who was not part of a shinobi family line).

Actually, contrary to ALL her assumptions, Sakura found Hiashi to be a very warm man who was genuinely interested in her accomplishments as a medic. She was even surprised that he had congratulated her on her engagement with Gaara. Had Tsunade leaked out the information? Why was he so interested?

Sakura deflated upon remembering her current problem. With the difficulty of her medic monitoring and the lightness of the tea fellowship, Sakura had, for the whole day, forgotten about her dilemma. Now that it had been brought up again, the girl couldn't pry her mind off it.

Sakura thought back to earlier that day when she had taken a stroll along Konoha, after completing her regular morning work out. In her time of solitude, the kunoichi had managed to stumble upon the most breathtaking natural hot springs anyone could humanly describe. The scenery was resilient, divine, and best of all, completely deserted. To her exquisite discovery, she never once hesitated on entering, and immediately went for a dip, grateful for the towel she brought with her.

Although the bath was relaxing, the quietude was dangerous for the kunoichi's intelligent mind because it opened many topics for her to ponder uninterrupted.

When the subject of her arranged marriage with Gaara came up, Sakura couldn't help but shed desperate tears. It was terribly tragic, the fact that Konoha's most hopeless romantic couldn't even select her own husband. Haruno Sakura had been the girl whom everyone knew as the love dreamer and fantasizer. Since childhood, she'd planned the perfect wedding with the man of her dreams. Of course, back then, she had always presumed it would be the dark and mysterious Uchiha Sasuke. But as time changed her physique, it also morphed her romantic ideals.

Now that she was over the Uchiha and completely rid of him, Sakura was excited about discovering love the hard way, the long way, and ultimately the best way. However, that chance was soon smothered the moment she had discovered her obligations as the Haruno's only daughter.

Marrying Gaara tormented her, and ripped her hopeful heart to shreds. And despite her mother's helpful hint regarding the conditions of breaking the arrangement, Sakura wasn't sure if she had enough time. Two weeks was not enough to fall in love with another person who was available. Two weeks did not buy her enough time to get someone to make a good enough bargain with Gaara to suede him to reconsider. It just didn't seem possible. Not in two weeks.

The only thing left to do was to accept that her fate had been decided. She would make the best out of the future to come.

Although she had surrendered to the arrangement, she still needed to unleash the tears that so willingly tried to fall upon the announcement of her fiancée. Knowing that she would never have the chance at true love did upset her a bit, and although she had come to accept that, the tears still needed to fall.

After stabilizing her emotions, the kunoichi had reminded herself that she was strong and would eventually be ready. That was when she got up and left, resolving the inner turmoil bubbling beneath her bubblegum locks. She was prepared to marry the Sand shinobi and it calmed her a bit. She dearly thanks the hotsprings.

Sakura crossed her arms hoping to cover the series of goose bumps that had surfaced on her skin due to the low temperature of the evening. In total strain, she attempted to clench her teeth so that they wouldn't chatter. Weakness was not something she desired to openly display in front of the Hyuuga prodigy.

Ironically, he had just read her exact thoughts.

Emerald eyes widened at the sudden wave of warmth that engulfed her from shoulders to wrists. Turning her head at this gesture, Sakura caught glimpse of the Hyuuga draping an elegant silky robe over her back. The act was simple, but nonetheless very gentleman-like.

Sakura blushed at this and smiled. The guy was actually sweeter than she thought. Being raised as a respectable Hyuuga, nothing was expected any less of Neji. Family honor came first in his life and the kunoichi found that admirable. She knew from experience how difficult family obligations were…

Resting her eyes on him, Sakura tried to catch the expression on Neji's handsome face. He remained emotionless as always, trapped in that same posture as before, hands shoved into his long sleeves. Her green eyes squinted to read beneath his demeanor.

Neji was strikingly similar to Sasuke, minus the rudeness and blunt declarations of her weakness and irritation on him. Judging by the Hyuuga's manner, Sakura could somehow sense that she was not sitting so well on his bookshelf of impressions--- despite his attempt to cover it.

"Are you mad?" Sakura asked suddenly, and Neji was a little taken back by her question. He knew that he making it bluntly obvious that he was frustrated with her but he didn't think the girl would have the courage to ask him about it. Sakura had more guts than he thought…

Neji watched as the kunoichi tried to slip off the robe, as it hoping it would compensate for her irritancy on him. She was trying to keep her distance, knowing that it was probably wiser not to get on his bad side.

The Hyuuga stopped her movements by placing a firm hand on her shoulder, preventing the robe from sliding off.

"It's cold." He gruffly informed, disregarding her question. "Keep it on."

The pink-haired kunoichi was surprised by his actions and his sudden concern for her well-being. She slowly released her hands from removing the silky robe and placed them through the sleeves.

"Thank you." She spoke softly, almost reminiscent-like, and Neji had almost forgotten that he was angry with her.

Sakura cleared her throat to continue. "Thanks, I mean, for walking me home. I know you have better things to do and you're only here because your uncle forced you to escort me."

"Hm." He exhaled, unable to figure out what to say. What she said was dead-on true, but now it just made him feel guilty about it. Any anger he had towards the girl had suddenly seemed to evaporate, despite his will to remain bitter. The girl was just so hard to stay mad at.

Neji watched through the corner of his eye as she nervously stroked the material of the sleeve with her delicate finger tips…

…Finger tips that ran through his hair earlier that day…

Before Neji could shake off the thoughts, he was interrupted by the repetition of her initial question.

"Are you mad?" she asked again. Green eyes worriedly stared up into his eyes, seeking for a hidden answer through them. Neji had to admit, there was a certain lulling pull that magnetized a lock on himself into hers. He had to close his eyes to break the mesmerizing spell.

"No." he grunted. "Why."

It wasn't a complete lie. He wasn't angry with her. At least, not anymore. Containing his fury with her was like keeping a cat away from a stray mouse. Utterly difficult.

Sakura fiddled a bit, searching for words to say.

"I thought you'd be angry with me for helping you earlier at the ANBU session. You probably wanted to handle the situation on your own." She said and then looked down. "I'm sorry."

Ahh. That struck Neji in the gut harder than he wanted.

"I'm grateful, Kunoichi. You saved my life back then." He spoke emotionlessly, trying not to sound anything other than his bastard-like character. "You were doing your job. I'm not angry."

Neji kept his gaze straight ahead, trying to avoid any eye contact. The girl had a strange way of making him express words and emotions that he normally did not possess. She was the one girl that made him feel inferior at times, which frightened him a great deal. Hyuugas were meant to be in control. Situations that they could not be in command of were foreign to Hyuugas, as if stepping on uncharted territory. And this girl made Neji feel that way every moment he spent with her. He hated being so submissive.

Neji tried to speed up the walking pace to both dismiss the topic and to reach their destination faster. The quicker he was rid of the girl, the more his mind could rest in ease. He somehow could not describe what it was about the girl that made him want to run as far away from her as possible. She was extremely unpredictable, and he did not like what he could not predict.

Despite his sudden change of pace, Neji found that the kunoichi had kept up very well. In fact, she did not seem to mind.

He watched the satisfied spring in her step as she fingered the delicate embroidery around the sleeves of the robe. Neji thought the garment looked rather nice on her, the way it draped around the curves of her body. It was quite big on her, but nevertheless cute, the way she was drowned in its fabric. The robe was a turquoise shade and had been in his possession ever since his nineteenth birthday, when it had been given to him as a gift from the women of his household. The Hyuuga family crest was proudly stitched on the back and it did not look so bad on the Haruno. It was a change from the regular white circle Neji saw on her usual outfit. He then concluded that it looked much better on her than it did on him.

Unconsciously, Neji eased off his quick pace in silent admiration of Sakura's features. He really did think she was pretty, and he was finding himself struggling to deny that with every one of their close encounters. She was definitely a rare beauty, considering how he had NO recollection whatsoever of a girl other than her having pink for a hair color. Her deep green eyes had such a distinct aura in them, as if a spark of life exploded from them. She was a fiery young woman, and he'd be lying to say that he wasn't physically attracted to her. Who wouldn't be? He remembered the long list of males that had harbored feelings of attraction towards the kunoichi…

Naruto…Lee…Kankurou…Heck, even the Uchiha brat would have taken interest in her if he wasn't so consumed in blood-thirsty revenge. Even the teacher of Team Seven, Kakashi, and the perverted hermit sannin had looked dirtily her way when she passed by. Sakura had curves, and Neji would've had to have been BLIND not to notice. Especially when Byaakugan had given him the upper hand…

"Your muscles seem tense." Sakura suddenly spoke, breaking the Hyuuga from indecent thoughts. Immediately, he tensed more at her words, inwardly grateful that she did not possess slight mind-reading capabilities that he did.

The Hyuuga noticed her green eyes glued to his hand which had moved to rub the back of his neck during his thoughts. As if afraid the motion would reveal his mind's content, he retracted his hand and placed them in his sleeves.

"I've probably overworked myself today." He lied. "I'm fine."

Actually, now that it had been mentioned, Neji did feel a certain stiffness in his shoulder blades and neck muscles. It must have been due to the fact that he hadn't slept well in two days and the fatigue was taking its toll on his rippling muscles.

"You need a massage…" he heard her soft voice mumble as she reached a hand over to press her index finger and her thumb into the back of his neck. Neji nearly jumped back at this motion, surprised that she had the guts to touch him, especially when she was off-duty as a medical ninja. But when her fingers met his skin, his knees almost buckled, and he had to stifle a satisfied groan. She massaged the tense muscles very well and Neji couldn't remember the last time any touch had felt so good.

Before Neji could close his eyes, he stopped walking when her fingers met his blind spot. Instinctively, he grabbed her wrist, as if she had crossed an unnecessary boundary.

"I'm fine." He managed to growl out, despite his bodily protests for her to continue. He let go of her wrist and kept walking, rubbing the back of neck again, to remove any lingering sensations he had left of her touch.

Sakura put a finger to her bottom lip and tried to look the Hyuuga in the eye.

"You're still stiff from the paralysis earlier. If you let me untangle the knot, you may be able to sleep better tonight. You seem tired." Sakura's offer seemed so tempting for the Hyuuga and she was correct about everything. Neji now had no doubt that she was a very talented medic.

Instead of surrendering to her offer, Neji kept walking.

"It's late. I'll get into trouble if you don't get back on time." He said, trying to brush her off like a fly. She was a like a devil's temptress, sent to torment him from all the things familiar to him, and trying to lead him into a new, unexplored territory.

No, Neji was a stubborn guy. He would not so easily submit under her spell.

"You're right." He heard her sigh. "It's getting pretty late."

The rest of the way there was spent in silence, with a bit of a distance between their bodies. Neji wanted to drop the girl off and forget any of his thoughts of her, so he walked as fast as he could.

In obedience, Sakura willingly followed.

When they had reached the doorway, Neji finally slowed down.

"It's past midnight." He said, almost softly. "Will you get into trouble?"

Sakura shook her head and began removing the robe from her shoulders.

"No one is home. My parents are making wed---" she began to explain, but cut herself off. For some reason that she could not explain, Sakura did not feel like bringing up the subject of her arranged marriage with the Hyuuga prodigy. She cleared her throat to generalize her statement. "They're making preparations."

Neji nodded, not wanting to prolong their conversation. He took the robe from her and walked her up the steps towards the door, where she fumbled for keys.

At the release of heat from the garment, Neji noticed Sakura's bottom lip quivering, as she searched her pouch. Almost instinctively, and definitely before he had a chance to stop himself, he extended the robe out to her once more.

"Here, take this. Return it to me when you get the chance." He said but she put up a refusing hand.

"It's alright, I got it." She smiled, jingling her keys. She unlocked the door and stepped it, opening the entrance wider. "Would you like to come in?"

Again, that was tempting for the Hyuuga, since it was rather chilly in the air, but he managed to compose himself enough to turn down the offer. He shook his head.

"It's late."

There was no formal goodbye, and Sakura did not want to seem dismissive, but nevertheless, the Hyuuga turned around to make his way back to the mansion, clutching the robe in his hands.

Before he turned the corner, Sakura called for him.

"Neji-san." She spoke, and he inwardly liked the way she said his name. It occurred to him that she was still so polite because she did not know her uncle was talking about their marriage.

Neji turned around slowly, resting his eyes into hers, submitting into its tranquil spell.

"Hm?"

Sakura leaned against her door frame.

"I know this place, not too far… It might help relax you tension." She informed, rather nervously, and Neji suddenly became interested. Tension was one thing he had, and relieving it was one thing he needed.

"Ahh." He breathed, not bothering to hide his curiosity. "Where?"

Sakura smiled at his interest, inwardly flattered that she had finally caught his attention with something.

"You'll love it." She chimed. "These gorgeous hotsprings."

**Author's note: **This is a little slow in events. I wanted to get a lot more done on this chapter, but I figured, ah why let them wait longer. The next chapter should focus a bit more on Gaara and Sakura, even though I'm having so much fun with the Neji part.

Anyway, I got stumped and I didn't know how to end it, so I just ended it there. Things will move, don't worry.

Haha it's funny, I had originally intended this story to be a short (perhaps 8 chapter) story, but by the looks of it, that number wasn't even close. I foresee this as… 20 chapters? Hahaha

Hope you don't mind sticking with me for that long!

AH-RIGHT! MAKE ME SMILE!

Zarrah-chan


	9. Garden Breakfast

**Author's Note: **Back after eons of thinking about ditching this story.

To Faery, the anonymous reviewer, thank you so much for your constructive criticism. I'm not mad nor do I take it as a flame. I appreciate it and I've thought about what you said, and I think I do sorta owe explanations. Neji's character may seem OOC at times only cuz his mind's corrupted with distractions of the whole engagement thing. He's not thinking straight and it all roots back to thing that mattered to him the most: his succession technique. He's doing all these things because he wants that technique. I know perfectly well he's a genius, however, even geniuses do get distracted by the weight of burdens (Look at when he was fighting Hinata, and he went out of his calm collective character. He almost rushed into killing her out of impulse because of what she said about the main house clan and the branch clan). Anyway, if I'm doing a crummy job of keeping characters in tact, I'll try a bit harder not to do so in the future. But also take notice that THIS IS A FANFIC, a person's own rendition of how certain scenarios might work out. Gotta have a little freedom, ne? Thanks for the review. I take it for everything its worth.

To the other anon reviewer called OKAY… GUY, RELAX. I haven't even finished yet. I didn't even describe Gaara in his TRUE colours. That whole gentlemen thing he put up at Tsunade's office was a FRONT, as I will explain in this chapter. And the only Japanese I ever inserted was the names of karate moves, just cuz I didn't want to butcher it by putting it in English. It's as bad as calling a good technique exactly what it means in English (example: when inuyasha shouts WOUND OF THE WIND instead of KAZE NO KIZU.) just doesn't have the same effect. As for Neji saying BLOODY, I have to say, I have a clean slate. I don't swear, nor do I think Neji would be the kind of person to swear.

And like I told Faery, NEJI IS DISTRACTED. He can't think like he would during normal circumstances. I wrote that he was too drowned in his worries to notice Sakura coming. Frig, he just spent his entire day in madness for finding a wife in order for him to get his technique. For the spelling errors, SUE Me. I doubt there are many fics without at least ONE error in it. I, by the way, do NOT have an editor, so like I said… SUE ME.

Finally, THIS IS A FRICKEN FAN FIC, I repeat. Courtesy of, I LIKE THESE TWO TOGETHER AND I HAD TO FIGURE OUT SOME SORT OF WAY FOR THEM TO INTERACT. So, I HAD to be creative. If this was a stupid way, BITE ME. I like it.

Besides, Neji isn't on bad terms with his uncle. His uncle has accepted him as his own son, thus in the manga, Haishi decides to train him LIKE a mainhouse Hyuuga. Why WOULDN'T Neji feel obligated to follow the normal main house rules? READ THE BLASTED MANGA FOR GOODNESS SAKE. DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE FLARING AT ME and pulling off a "Ten things I hate about your story".

All I'm saying is RELAX. Geez, you flamed me so hard I wanted do ditch this. IF YOU DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ. That's that. Don't worry, ok? They'll all be in character soon enough.

OY.

Inhales deeply.

Ok. Now that THAT's finished… let's proceed, shall we?

ITONAMI, you ROCK MY SOCKS OFF! This continuation is dedicated to YOU and the FORMERAURORA people. I will cherish your reviews forever!

Oh and to REIJ, (WINKS) yeahh, girl. You know this one's for you too.

Zarrah-chan

**Chapter 9**

Sakura closed the door after her midnight escort had retreated home. She was disappointed when he had refused to meet her at the hot springs early the next morning upon her request, but nothing was expected any less of the Hyuuga. He was anti-social, aloof, and probably had much better things to do than to relax alongside her.

Oh well. It was worth a shot asking him, though. His muscle tension was terribly noticeable, and as a med-nin, it was her nature to offer help when she could.

But he refused it, and there was nothing more she could do.

Hoping it wasn't the last she saw of the handsome Hyuuga, she had let him retire to his home, where he could get his much-needed rest, and so that she could get hers.

The kunoichi tiptoed to hang her keys up on the hook next to the front door.

"You're late." A voice spat in the shadows of her home, nearly killing the kunoichi in a heart attack. She dropped the keys and bowed in recognition of the figure that stood before her.

"Gaara-sama." She panted, hoping to God that he wouldn't kill her. He'd been so silent. She couldn't even sense his chakra…

Sakura kept her eyes glued to the floor, as if it were a sin to look him in the eye.

Sand ran past her cheekbones and brushed against her jaw, lifting her chin slowly. It moved as if it possessed a mind of its own, slithering around her in mid air like eels. Reluctantly, she followed its persuasive tug and soon met eyes with the Kazekage before her, crossed-armed and leaning casually against a wall. His face was emotionless as always.

"In two weeks we will be married." He spoke in a monotone voice. He took a step towards her and she inwardly winced. "Such formalities aren't necessary."

With one hand, he recollected the sand that had caressed her face and it vanished in his palm. Sakura trembled.

"What are you doing here?" she managed to ask, through rapidly pumping blood. During his visit to Konoha, the Kazekage was supposed to have been residing in the guest quarters of Tsunade's Hokage building. HOW he managed to sneak into her house and WHY he did totally stumped the girl clueless. It wasn't like they had actually interacted much before, so he couldn't have been simply seeking for her company. What if he was out to kill her so that he wouldn't have to marry her?

Gaara didn't blink and kept his dark gaze plastered on her.

"Are you scared?" he snorted, as the sand resurfaced from his palm. It moved slowly around her ankles, gradually constricting them like a boa.

He was mocking her. He was testing her. He was toying around with her patience, seeing if she would break…

But he'd forgotten that she was Haruno Sakura, and she would not give in so easily.

Sakura shook her head and fought to suppress her quivering.

"It's just late, that's all." She replied with a straight face. "I thought you'd be sleeping."

She heard him scoff, while he turned around, examining the empty house.

"I don't sleep."

Sakura gulped, remembering that tidbit fact she'd heard from Naruto. It was the reason behind the blackness that bordered his eyes. All because of the demon trapped inside him.

Hm. That gentleman act at Tsunade's office _was_ a FRONT after all…

_Kissing_ her hand… BAH! It was all pretend.

Gaara's movements remained silent as he brushed by her, heading for the door.

"Your mother requested I verify your safety." He explained. "Your face tells me your security will only be confirmed AFTER my departure."

At that bitter comment, he reached for the door knob.

Her mother had requested such a thing? And he actually obeyed? She just couldn't believe that he'd gone out of his duties as Kazekage just to check on her welfare. Now, she felt guilty for just letting him leave without so much as a thank you.

"Wait." Sakura called, stopping his movements. If she didn't feel comfortable with him now, then she wouldn't be comfortable with him the rest of her life. She needed that somewhat sense of security. She needed to know she could trust him… or at least cope with him for her remaining days alongside him.

"Would you like to stay for tea?"

A grunt.

"I don't drink tea."

Figures. What DID he do other than kill people with deadly looks?

Sakura frowned and looked down, running her fingers up and down her bear arm.

"We haven't spoken much nor discussed about the whole arrangement since we found out about it. If we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, we might as well get on the same page, wouldn't you agree?"

No answer. He was finding her view on the marriage painfully boring. She had read too much into the whole love-thing while he couldn't care less.

"Do you even remember me? Seven years ago?"

A pause.

"No."

Sakura sighed knowing that he probably didn't file silly little girls with childhood crushes away in his memory. Yes, she had fought him, but she had also been defeated by him so quickly. Such weakness probably wasn't even worth remembering. She knew that he genuinely had no recollection of her whatsoever. She knew he spited her and their marriage because she was weak.

Yet she couldn't understand why he did not back out of it. He WAS, after all, the only one of the two who could.

Sakura fingered the hem of her dress.

"I don't even know what you think about this arrangement."

Gaara took his hand off the knob. She was interested in HIS perspective? No one had bothered to ask him about his opinion…EVER. He did was he was told, his way, mind you, but with no questions asked. His opinion mattered to no one up until now… Up until her.

Gaara's recollection of the arrangement stirred up boiling anger in the pit of his gut. How he despised his father for the ridiculous plan. The idiotic idea for them to be rid of him…Him and his monstrous power…

But while he would do ANYTHING to back out of it, he couldn't. Gaara was bound, for reasons deeper than blood signatures on a silly contract. The sand, the very sand that formed his being, was bound to the contract. It was to ensure that he wouldn't try to escape the agreement.

For those reasons, Gaara SPITED his father.

"It is my obligation, a fate that was decided years ago." He snarled, biting back the grueling thoughts. "Nothing changes. So my opinion doesn't matter. Neither does yours."

Sakura was hit by that rather blunt statement, mildly hurt from its sting. She bit her lip, afraid that if she pestered him about it longer, she would wind up a victim of his deadly sand claws.

"I don't want to marry you." She simply said in a low, honest tone. It was terribly childish of her, but if he could play the blunt game, then so could she.

Gaara turned his head, reaching for the door handle once more.

"Same said for me." He spat, turning the knob. "Suck it up. The world doesn't care about anyone but themselves. Stop whining and accept what you've been destined to do."

Sakura gritted her teeth. This was not what she had hoped for. She had at least wanted herself to be on his good side. But now she could see that he had none. For the rest of her life, she'd be married to a moody, rude monster with no sensitivity for a girl's feelings whatsoever.

He was no fit fiancé for her.

Love was something she looked for in a marriage… And love was something Gaara did not posses.

At that moment, she wished to strangle her father. Promise or no promise, she couldn't go with the wedding. She had actually believed that she could make it work, but now that she knew he had no ounce of affection in him, she couldn't do it. By all means, she would stop it. And she would do it in the two weeks she had left, no matter what it took.

As selfish as that was…it was decided. She wanted to break off the arrangement.

Legally.

Through her facial expression, Gaara could read her deep resentment for him and it brought him some amusement. He wondered how much further he could poke at her patience before she'd snap.

"Quit pouting, kunoichi. You make a ridiculous bride."

His comment only resulted in a deeper pout.

"Shut up."

Gaara's facial expression seemed unmoved, although he inwardly laughed at the girl's stupidity.

She was more interesting when she was angry, having enough courage to tell a Kazekage to shut up. Hate definitely made things more fascinating. Hate was such a beautiful thing…And irritating her was greatly amusing.

The cruelty of reality was the best way to break a person, and Gaara wished to test that out on the unstable kunoichi.

"No wonder the Uchiha left you."

At that, he vanished in a trail of sand, leaving the girl fuming at the venom in his comment and speechless at his hint that he _HAD_ remembered her seven years prior.

She was filed away deep in his memory after all…As the helpless crybaby who swooned over Konoha's greatest betrayer.

Not such a nice way to be remembered.

_Jerk._

Sakura's fist shook in boiling antipathy.

Tomorrow, she would go on a search…

A search for a new fiancé.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

A creamy blue tunic wrapped around Neji's finely built torso as he tied off the front with a black belt. In the mirror, he could see his scowling face, pale from exhaustion and lack of sleep.

Hyuuga Neji was in a crappy mood that morning and it vividly showed.

"Neji-san." A voice called on the other side of the door after two sharp knocks.

Neji had almost chucked a chair at the maid in annoyance.

"What?" he barked. He turned his head and it instantly shot up a painful sensation.

The young Hyuuga rubbed the back of his neck and silently damned the pink-haired kunoichi from last night. She had been dead-on correct when she mentioned that he wouldn't sleep very well due to the strain on his muscles.

Small dark circles underlined his eyes from hours of tossing and turning in his bed, and he slept very little that night, if any at all. His shoulders felt as if they were in the wrong place and every time he turned his head, a soft click could be heard. The Hyuuga inwardly beat himself on the head for not taking the kunoichi up on the offer for her massage. The consequences were more brutal than he thought.

"Hiashi-sama would like to meet with you. He's requested you have breakfast with him in the garden." The maid announced and then quickly left after fulfilling her duty.

_Great._

Not only did the Hyuuga obtain little sleep, but his ANBU training session scheduled for that day had been postponed to the following week, due to a specially classified mission that required ALL ANBU shinobi on duty.

On top of that, his uncle was now requesting a meeting with him that would probably last a good long while, considering that it was being held in the garden… With breakfast.

Neji sighed.

That could only mean that Hiashi would be painfully discussing Neji's so-called fiancée and his impression of her last night when they had tea.

Neji groaned at the thought, as he tied back his hair in a loose ponytail.

A crappy week, he was no doubt foreseeing.

As he walked out of his bedroom door, he caught sight of the turquoise robe neatly folded on his futon, and he instantly remembered the events of last night. The young Hyuuga had escorted the kunoichi back to her home upon his uncle's request, and surprising as it was, the girl was actually tolerable. She wasn't as annoying as the Uchiha had made her out to appear, and he almost enjoyed her company.

He was a little taken back, however, when she had asked him to accompany her at the hot springs the next morning, and it almost made him choke in laughter—if it weren't for the fact that he rarely ever even smiled.

_Ahh. _He had thought. _So she DOESN'T know it's Hyuuga property._

It made sense, the reason how the girl found herself in his territory and had mistaken it for a secret abyss. It was quite reasonable though. There were no signs or banners that broadcasted "Hyuuga Property". No one was supposed to have even been aware of the hideout.

Neji had almost spoiled it for her by telling her that it was restricted area, but something about recalling her tears when he saw her there prevented him from bursting the bubble. It was _both_ of their getaways from the horrendous pressures of real life. He somehow couldn't ruin it for her.

"_No." _he had declined to her invitation. _"I have things to do."_

Then, he had left her that night, allowing her to believe that the hot springs really _were_ her own little secret discovery. He certainly did not want to inform her the truth without coming across the fact that he had seen her almost naked the morning before.

If they really were to be wed, she'd discover her mistake in little less than two weeks.

Neji cringed at the recollection of his current dilemma and how he was certainly screwed over. Hiashi was bluntly making it obvious that the idea of this marriage was the most brilliant thing Neji had ever decided. To make matters worse, Hiashi had dragged Sakura into the whole ordeal. Sure, she was part of his plan, but Neji was planning on _telling _her, rather than her discovering through his uncle.

Neji was a bit shocked that after all the embarrassing hints given last night at the tea fellowship, the girl had not picked up on what was going on. Moreover, he couldn't understand HOW she had known that in two weeks they were supposed to be married. Was she speaking of a totally different event than Hiashi?

The young Hyuuga was almost positive that the girl wasn't aware of the set-up marriage. If she was, it would be a sure thing that Neji would receive the beating of a lifetime.

Which led him to wince all the more at his upcoming task at hand. He'd have to convince her to play along.

Neji's mind ached from both the neck pain and the swarming situations he'd have to clear up that day.

But, first things were first:

Breakfast with Hiashi.

…...

A few maids stopped their duties to bow to the young Hyuuga as he passed by them on the stone pave way to the garden. Many of them had been watering the plants or feeding the bird sanctuary, maintaining the cleanliness of the haven, as they did with pretty much the entire Hyuuga estate.

Neji nodded in response to their respectful acknowledgement and signaled for them to return to their valued duties.

When the Hyuuga prodigy came across the garden clearing, he found his uncle kneeling on bamboo mats in the circular gazebo located at the centre of the clearing. Three maids had just finished putting the remaining breakfast dishes on the table, then scurrying off to complete their chores.

Hiashi sat still, eyes plastered on the cushion across him, lightly fluffed on the other side of the table.

"Please join me, Neji." He said.

Neji took a deep breath and entered the divine shelter.

Taking off his shoes, he knelt facing his uncle, posture straight, and silver eyes stern.

"Hiashi-sama." He acknowledged.

His uncle poured out two cups of green tea using the regular china ware, and handed one to his nephew.

"Drink."

Inwardly, Neji rolled his eyes at how his uncle was painfully stalling. Whatever he had to say, Neji couldn't understand why he hadn't come out to say it already. Hiashi was usually quite the straightforward man.

"Eat." The elderly Hyuuga said, pushing plates and bowls of extravagant food towards him. Neji made no movements to accept the food.

Instead, he kept his eyes locked on his uncle's.

"What's this about?" came his blunt interrogation. He didn't feel ashamed for rudeness, nor did he need to. Hiashi knew very well that he had been beating around the bush.

"Patience, Neji."

Neji did not back down.

"I have things to do, uncle." He lied. "With all due respect, please be brief."

Hiashi sternly looked at him, but after seeing that the boy would not falter, he finally sighed.

"I'd like to apologize on behalf of myself and the elders."

Neji's ears perked up in interest.

An apology, huh? _That _was unexpected.

The young Hyuuga gave his uncle a look of patience, silently granting him permission to continue.

"We do realize that you've been rushed into decision-making, and that marriage now-a-days is not viewed the same as it was in _my_ days. We apologize for our brutality." Hiashi continued.

Neji stirred slightly at Hiashi's words. Damn right, he had been rushed. Now look at the mess he was in!

"We don't make up the rules, Neji. They've been in our family as tradition for a long time. Family destiny cannot be broken. You know that."

Neji was quite aware of this. It was the cage around his entire being.

"Even though you've been rushed, I appreciate your co-operation and I do praise your choice. The Haruno is a fine young woman."

Neji was surprised. Hiashi had approved? Being as stubborn and picky as he was, Neji was shocked that Hiashi had accepted the girl…

Correction.

Hiashi had _praised_ her.

"Her rank as a ninja and status as a medic is quite impressive. It would make a majestic addition to the Hyuuga clan."

Neji scoffed.

_That's _what his uncle was after. Shinobi status making the damn Hyuuga clan even stronger than they already were.

Hiashi read his thoughts and was inclined to carry on.

"However, Neji, status isn't what put my approval on her." He said.

_Oh? _Neji perked up. _What did?_

"Her character, Neji," he said with pride, "is composed of fine attributes. A rare find. She is loyal, strong, and she has a pure heart. My own Byaakugan sees it. Your choice was an honorable and wise one. Forgetting the Hyuuga clan, she will do _YOU _some good, Neji. That, I guarantee."

Neji was completely baffled. There was nothing special in the girl, other than her pink hair and vibrant green eyes. What the hell could his uncle see in her that he couldn't? What had she said or done to receive such a prideful blessing from Hiashi? Obviously, Neji was missing something and he couldn't figure out what.

Oh, the guilt tormented him. How far this lie had gone, beyond his control. He had disgraced himself as a Hyuuga. Should he tell the truth?

"Hiashi-sama…" Neji began, but didn't know how to finish. How was he supposed to tell his uncle that he had lied to get the technique and hadn't really planned on marrying Sakura? Neji didn't want to be eternally bound to the girl for the rest of his miserable life. How was he going to slither out of this tangle? Especially since Hiashi had sacrificed quite the amount of ego points just to admit his approval.

Hiashi put up a hand signaling that he wasn't finished.

"I will teach you the technique after the wedding is complete." He said, almost smiling. "I promise."

Gulping, Neji lost all confidence in confessing the truth.

"Hai."

The elderly Hyuuga took Neji's hand and placed an object in his palm, closing his fingers around it. Hiashi took his hands away and got up to leave.

"Give that to your bride for me. You've both officially received the household blessing."

With that, he vanished into the garden foliage, leaving Neji shaken at the turn of events.

When the young Hyuuga gathered the rest of his faltering courage, he opened his hand to reveal the object of Hiashi's approval.

In his palm lay a the shiny, twenty-two karat white gold, fifty-one diamond prized Hyuuga family engagement ring.

Holy freaking crap.

Neji was screwed.

**Author's note: **Wow, bet y'all didn't expect this chapter to come out. Actually, speaking of confessions, I've really had this chapter sitting in my computer desktop for quite a while now. I had really wanted to discontinue the story, but there had been ooooooodles of requests for me to continue, a lot of them being really nice and encouraging ones. So, I decided to give you all the treat you all deserve.

I do apologize if anything seems a bit off. I haven't had this story in my head for QUITE SOME TIME, so I sorta lost the feel to this fic. But don't you worry, I'll get my groove back again. Re-reading my notes, I think this may turn out to be a good story after all.

Sorry for the slow events. I'll continue this along with the Question Game.

Reviews are MOST appreciated.

Zarrah-chan


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